I Promise
by Scarlette Symphony
Summary: Taking place after Hot Gimmick S. Hatsumi is finally letting go of her brotherly love, and accepting Shinogu for the man that he is. The couples collection of first's dates, jealousy, insecurities, sex, and the options for their future together.
1. Promise 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Hot Gimmick, Hot Gimmick S, or its characters. Credit is rightfully due to creator and mangaka Miki Aihara and Megumi Nishizaki who wrote HGS. This fan fiction is a non-profit piece of work and does not intend to infringe any copyright laws, and is merely here for enjoyment.

Author's Notes: First off, I love Shinogu. I'm a DIE HARD Shinogu fan. When Hot Gimmick ended, it was a bitter sweet taste in my mouth, I don't hold anything against Ryoki…but Shinogu should have gotten the girl or at least never became a monk (God, I was so upset about that). So when HGS came out I was happy beyond all imagination…until I got to the ending. I mean, it was great Hatsumi decided she liked Shinogu to a degree, but the relationship wasn't where I wanted it to be. It was…still swishy washy in my point. Seriously, I'm sure a lot of Shinogu fans wanted a flat out "I FUCKING LOVE YOU." We didn't get it, so I'm picking up from where HGS left off with grotesque amounts of fluff, lime and lemon. The rating is deceptive, the first chapter is quite innocent but we're gonna kick it up a notch later: it's what I do best.

I also want to mention that a fan fiction like this is something that I haven't done in a very long time that it almost seems brand new to me. No, not romance or the sex or anything, but the fact that I'm writing a fan fiction AFTER a manga has seen an official ending. I haven't done one of these in a long while, so I'm a bit nervous to pick up the story with no references or events that that I know will happen. Basically, I don't have a formula to work with. Because A happened, B happens, and from B we obviously can conclude we end with C. Now it's kind of like, okay so I'm at C…where to now? I just want to make sure my story stays true to the characters and what I think would happen so would Miki Aihara.

On a final note: I REALLY should be writing Midnight (my god they're going to kill me) but I've been wanting to do something like this for such a long time. In fact, Shinogu and Hatsumi were the reason WHY I started to write another installment to Midnight. (Please view Midnight Chapter 2 Author's Notes for a full explanation) That's enough with my rambling! Please read, review if you please, but most importantly enjoy

-Scarlette.

* * *

It took just under a week for Shinogu to leave the hospital, minor cuts and bruises were mended and were no longer of a concern. In fact, he could have left a few days after being admitted, but he stayed only because a certain someone insisted he rested and recuperated.

Narita Hatsumi waited out in the front office, staring out the window, watching the traffic loiter by. It had become late fall, the chill in the air wasn't bitter and devastating, but just enough to occasionally send a shiver down her spine, an indication that winter would soon grace the island nation of Japan. Or maybe she felt the shiver down her spine because she was in a hospital? She was always so anxious when she came here, especially since Shinogu had been admitted. Every day she would walk in to visit him but uncertainty loomed over like a thick suffocating blanket. Everyday she would be afraid to tell the nurse that she was visiting Narita Shinogu, and the nurse would look up at her sadly and tell her that something else had happened to him. Hatsumi clenched her fists tightly, thankfully for everyday she came to visit she was permitted to see Shinogu and he was getting better by the hour.

"Hatsumi?"

She had been lost in her own thoughts, and turned around abruptly, shocked to hear her name but pleased to hear the voice that said it. Hatsumi smiled warmly, a gentle aura around her, "Shinogu!" she cried happily. Unable to contain herself she enveloped her adoptive brother in her embrace, and held him tightly. She could feel him stiffen at the sudden grasp she had over him, but in a few fading seconds he had loosened his muscles and returned her touch, his own arms encircling her. "How are you feeling?" Hatsumi asked her voice filled with concern.

"Fine," he replied with a small laugh. "I could have left a lot sooner-"

"NO." Hatsumi replied firmly, cutting him off.

"No need to get all angry over it," Shinogu gently patted her head, the smile still on his face. "I knew if I left you would have dragged me back here anyways. No use fighting with you."

Hatsumi fumed for a moment more, her lips forming into a pout. He said it as if she had done a bad thing. "I know you well enough Shinogu, if you left early you would have been back to work again! No breaks!"

He said nothing, but only smiled again. She was right. "Shall we go?" Shinogu shifted the weight of the back pack he was carrying and started to exit out the building.

"Want me to carry that?" Hatsumi asked, trailing a few inches behind him.

"No," he laughed slightly. "It's not like I broke anything."

This time Hatsumi stayed quiet, unable to reply to him. "Well, you scared me enough to think you were dead." She mumbled to herself.

* * *

The hustle and bustle of the train system hit Hatsumi like a ton of bricks. She wasn't suspecting such traffic this late into the afternoon, and on a Sunday of all days. There weren't enough cram schools or offices open today for the amount of people that flooded in and out the train doors. She looked around nervously; at least they weren't crammed together like sardines.

"You look like someone just told you your dog died." Shinogu said, carefully steering her out of the train station. "What's wrong?"

Hatsumi sighed. As usual Shinogu was guiding her and helping her. "No it's just, if I knew the train station would be this busy I would have called a taxi to take you home. I mean, there's just so many people…"

"Hatsumi," He stopped them in a quiet corner, tucked away from all the commotion. "Are you afraid I'm going to be pushed onto the tracks or something? Or that I can't manage people pushing me around?"

She didn't reply. It was stupid, she knew that, but she was exactly afraid of what Shinogu said. He _just_ left the hospital and the last thing she wanted was for him to have some kind of freak accident. She told herself she would play guard dog for the next few days, pushing all hindrances and threats out of Shinogu's way. It was turning out to be a complete failure.

"Hey," he said. Hatsumi looked away, embarrassed. "Hatsumi." The way he said her name was so gentle and comforting, but yet demanded her attention. She looked at him, her eyes locking onto his, filled with concern with a hint of amusement. "Relax okay?" His hand naturally reached for hers, squeezing it tenderly. Usually, this kind of act would comfort Hatsumi but due to circumstances between them, it had become painfully awkward. But none the less, she allowed Shinogu to hold her hand, enjoying the sensation of the tranquility he emitted.

They stood there, tucked away in their privacy. The people busily hurrying by…no one seemed to notice them. Shinogu still held her hand, and Hatsumi's eyes were still searching into his own. Silently the gap between them began to close, all the noise in the world had been shut out, the undeniable force of attraction's gravity pulled them together…

And the annoying velocity of chance tore them apart. "Oh sorry man, didn't see you there!" another young man, in a hurry, had bumped into Shinogu. He threw an apologetic glace over his shoulder, knowing he had disrupted an intimate moment.

Hatsumi looked away quickly, abashed with the events. Her cheeks felt so much warmer, she was sure she was blushing. Shinogu let out a sigh, Hatsumi wasn't sure if it was a sigh of annoyance or disappointment. She wouldn't admit it out loud, and maybe not even to herself yet, but her heart felt a pang of frustration. She wanted to kiss him.

But things were just so _difficult_. Hatsumi had become aware that her feelings for Shinogu were in a fixed jumble between loving a brother and loving a boy, she wasn't sure how to start sorting these kinds of emotions out. She loved Shinogu for so long, loved him dearly…but as a sibling. It wasn't till recently did her eyes open to the blessing of love in front of her. He was always there, and by now Hatsumi knew that Shinogu wasn't there by her side because he had responsibility as a brother, but as a man in love. Shinogu wasn't required to be a good brother, but he held himself accountable for Hatsumi because he loved her. He knew how he felt, and all Hatsumi could ever make clear was that her feelings were changing. She couldn't flat out say that she loved Shinogu for who he was, as a man. It even confused her, so much she lay awake at night…

It took an accident, for Shinogu to practically vanish, for her to understand that her brother wasn't her brother anymore. The light of realization began to shine on him so brightly that it _scared_ Hatsumi. He loved her so dearly, was willing to go so far to do so much, that it left Hatsumi speechless and shocked, it was almost unnerving. And what was it that she could give him? Nothing. Just a small reply of "I'm getting there Shinogu." The ring he gave her, the ring she said she would take because she was with him, sat guiltily tucked in its casing, stored safely in her purse… How much longer was she going to make him wait? How much longer would he wait? Her heart thundered in her chest, how long was he going to be there smiling gently, waiting with the patience of a saint.

She couldn't understand. She was terrified of loosing Shinogu; it was clear with the introduction of Wakana Nanami that Hatsumi had become _jealous_. Jealous of another woman. A sister, a sibling, wouldn't feel that kind of jealousy. If she could feel jealousy, she could feel the attraction, the love…What was holding her back? She recalled what Ryoki once told her. "The feelings are there, you're just ignoring them." She was just that kind of girl, slow to understand, slow to accept.

"Come on," Shinogu said sensing the uncomfortable situation. "Let's get going." He let go of her hand and took a few paces forward.

She looked to him, her face clearly upset about something. She was upset at herself. Ryoki was right. The feelings were there, and she was ignoring them, but they weren't for him. They were for Shinogu. She only had to muster the courage to break down the defining walls of family. Family was important to her, the bonds and relationships she had with them were precious, but Shinogu was on an entirely different plane and she had to understand that. The kind of relationship she wanted from him was something different, and he was making every effort he could to make it easier for her to break down those barriers, to make the taboo of being siblings in love something of the past. They would walk forward together.

"Shinogu." Hatsumi called out, he stopped and looked back. It was going to be hard to sort out all of the feelings she had, to explain them to herself and have them make sense, but she was willing to put in that effort. Shinogu deserved that in the very least. She had to learn to break the ties she had with Shinogu, break the chains of kinship, and build a new foundation. It was hard to understand, to cope, that she was losing a brother…but gaining so much more. Hatsumi ran to him, ran to Shinogu, smiling ever so slightly, and took his hand. "Let's go!"

* * *

"Hey you hungry?" Shinogu opened the door to his apartment, allowing Hatsumi to enter first.

"A little," she replied, taking her shoes off in the hallway.

"Ill make us something." He dropped his bag next to his shoes, flipping on the lights and heading for the kitchen. Shinogu didn't check for his mail or messages addressed to him, something people would usually first do when they come home from a leave of absence. He was going to take advantage of every second he had with Hatsumi. She had visited him plenty while in the hospital and he fervently thanked Hatsumi for doing so, but he was chained to the bed, nurses coming in and out of his room at any given moment. There just wasn't any privacy. "Make yourself comfortable, want tea?"

"I can make it Shinogu," Hatsumi replied, in the wake of his own footsteps. "It's not like the Emperor of Japan or something."

"Right," he said with a grin. Hatsumi wasn't the type of girl that wanted to be spoiled, she wanted to do everything equally, and that was just one of the traits he found so endearing about her.

"Where do you keep the tea kettle?" She asked, looking around in the kitchen.

"Top right cabinet, cups should be next to it too." Shinogu said opening the fridge, examining what he could scrap together. He heard her open the cabinet, the scraping of the kettle as she dragged it off the shelf, and the oven turning on. He smiled to himself, even though he wasn't watching her, he could see every movement she made in his mind. Focusing on what lay in the fridge, Shinogu frowned. The vegetables he had bought had gone missing and boxes of left overs from restaurants sat on the chilled shelves. It seemed like his roommate, Kazama, cleared out anything that was edible. "Hm."

"What's wrong?"

"Kazama ate everything." Shinogu answered.

Hatsumi let out a giggle, "I'm okay with just tea." She told him.

Shinogu shook his head, "I'm not going to send you home later on with an empty stomach. Besides, I'm kind of hungry myself."

"Wanna grab something outside then?" Hatsumi asked.

"Yeah, let's go to dinner." Shinogu stated.

"Like, a restaurant?"

"Why not?" He asked with a carefree look. "When was the last time you went out to east somewhere nice, huh?"

"Not in a while…I mean," Hatsumi stammered her words. She examined herself up and down, and then at Shinogu. "I look so trashy." She laughed out loud, "I'm not exactly dressed to take out to dinner." She had thrown on a pair of faded jeans and an over sized sweater that morning, in a hurry to meet Shinogu, and frankly not giving a damn what she looked liked, she was more concerned with him being released from the hospital. "Guys have it so easy Shinogu," she whined. "I mean you can walk out with jeans and decent looking jacket and you can pretty much go anywhere fit for any occasion." She waved a hand carelessly in the air. "Besides, I'm broke! I can't afford to help pay with dinner tonight."

Shinogu laughed, "I think you look fine, but if it bothers you so much lets go get you something to wear to dinner."

She looked at him, shock clearly on her face. "No!"

"Why not?"

"Because! That's money you earned Shinogu!"

"And I can spend it as I please." He declared.

"NO!" was all Hatsumi could say. Despite her best efforts, a small blush crept to her cheeks. Shopping and dinner with Shinogu? It sounded so much like…a date. The familiar fluttering of her heart started again, she felt guilty for actually wanting to do something of the sort with him. It was, like she said, Shinogu's money he had earned it with all the work he did so earnestly.

"Hatsumi," the was a of warning in his voice, it was so unusual to hear. "If you don't march yourself out first, Ill carry to you the store." A mischievous grin played on his lips. Hatsumi made a face at this, and slowly began to shrink against the nearest wall. Shinogu started to advance toward her his arms out stretched.

Closer and closer he approached, and finally a smile cracked on Hatsumi's face. "Okay, okay!" she said loudly, laughing as she dashed past Shinogu and towards the door.

He smiled watching after her, and turned off the tea she had begun to boil.

* * *

"Shinogu, are you sure this is alright? I mean, we can just grab something quick and we don't even have to worry about you know…dressing me up." Hatsumi asked, trailing near him.

"Its fine." He assured her, yet again. It didn't matter how many times she said no, or how many times she tried to get away, Shinogu was determined to take her out some place nice. "Which place would you like to go into first?"

Hatsumi looked around the busy street, lined with shops and littered with people. She didn't want to waste so much of Shinogu's time, she was sure he had much more important things to do then idly roaming from shop to shop. A department store, a one stop shop, would be the best choice with the most selection. Get in, and get out. She wasn't out shopping leisurely on her own time. "Um, um…" she echoed. Farther down the street she saw the towering levels of a department store. "There we go!" she pointed the building out.

Shinogu made a face. He made a point to take Hatsumi down this street for a reason, it was the busiest retail area where he lived, and from what he gathered from the girls around his university it had the best shops for the trendiest and up to date fashions. He knew all too well why Hatsumi chose to wander to a department store. If he tried to convince her to go elsewhere, she would refuse and the outing could turn out to be a total bust. He would just have to lead her, subtly, into a different store. "Actually, Hatsumi do you mind if we go in here really quick? I owe Kazama a sweater, I ruined one of his, and he bought of this store. Just want to replace it."

"Oh yeah! Sure!' Hatsumi agreed without blinking. She didn't even think twice about Shinogu's intentions, he felt just a bit wicked for leading her on.

"Welcome!" The employees behind the counter chirped in unison. "How may we help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to have this young lady," Shinogu pointed at Hatsumi, who was bewildered at the moment, "dressed for dinner. Whatever she likes. I only have one request; she doesn't leave this store till I've purchased her items."

The employees eyed each other, smiling and chuckling, it was something straight out of movie, better yet a shoujo manga. They gathered around Hatsumi, and whisked her away. She looked over her shoulder, her face twisted in panic and a playful hate, Shinogu gave her a small wave and sat comfortably in a nearby chair.

The lavish party dress was just cut above the knees, soft to the touch, beautiful in the street light, even more spectacular in the moonlight, the dark blue catching the twinkle of the stars. Lucky for Hatsumi flats were in this season, she was dreading what kind of shoes she was going to wear but what did she have to tell the styling associates that she couldn't wear heels? She took a breath when they pulled out a black pair of flat ballet like slippers, and handed her a matching clutch. The associates were about to send her out as is, covered with a few accessories on her wrists and neck, when Shinogu also asked for a jacket for Hatsumi.

"I don't want to you getting cold, and I don't think my jacket would compliment your dress very much." He told Hatsumi before she could protest about further costs. A black, delicately cut trench coat was also rung up with the purchases that night.

"I'm going to murder you Shinogu," Hatsumi whispered as they exited the store. Her own clothes were tucked into the store bags, and she pranced out in a newly adorned wardrobe for the night.

"Is that how you say thanks?" he asked teasingly.

Hatsumi felt her cheeks flush. "Thank you," she recited. "But, you didn't have to…"

"You're right." He smiled at her, "I didn't have to but I _wanted_ to." They were quiet for a moment. "You look good." Shinogu complimented her.

She smiled bashfully. "Only because of you." Hatsumi caught a glimpse of herself in a nearby window, and she really did have Shinogu to thank. She knew what kind of street this was, what kind of retailers were here. She frequently heard her school mates tell tales of the expensive clothing and heard her sister, Akane; yearn for certain brands that were only a few feet away from where Hatsumi was standing now.

"Where do you want to go to dinner? Anything in particular?" He inquired.

Hatsumi shook her head, "I don't think we even-"

"You're gorgeously dressed tonight Hatsumi, I'm using this as an excuse to get you to go to dinner. Don't let the dress go to waste." Shinogu said. As terrible as it was, he had Hatsumi wrapped around his little finger for the night. She was obviously feeling indebted to Shinogu for the earlier purchases.

"I can't think of anything." Hatsumi said after a while.

"That's okay, I'm sure we'll find something." The usual smile was on Shinogu's face. He felt his hand motion outwards for Hatsumi to take it, but before she could notice he had refrained from making it apparent that he wanted to hold her hand. He started to walk forward, Hatsumi by his side.

They walked down the street, Shinogu examining restaurant menus. Hatsumi watched him as he walked along side her, but she could feel the eyes of others on them. She heard the whispers of other girls commenting on how attractive Shinogu was, questioning if Hatsumi was his girlfriend, wondering if he was single.

Insecurity began to sink in, jealousy once again roared aloud. She never had been out with Shinogu at night because of her own curfew, and for the past couple of years Shinogu would work nights. She tried to remember the last time she actually went out with Shinogu, whether it be during the day or the night. It had been so long…but things were different this time, Hatsumi noticed all the attention he was getting, especially since he didn't look like he was claimed.

"What do you think about this place Hatsumi?" Shinogu asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, um, yeah? Did you like the menu?"

"I thought it looked good." He replied.

"Then this one!" She smiled is response.

Shinogu went up to the desk, asking for seating for two. He beckoned Hatsumi over and they followed the waiter for a cozy table. The waiter pulled out Hatsumi's chair, and she sat openly unsure of herself. She looked over the menu, it was all western food, something she rarely had…even then, the most western food she had wasn't nearly as classy as this…Unless a hot dog was considered a delicacy, but Hatsumi highly doubted that. "Shinogu," she started "I'm not quite sure what to order."

"Would you like for me to order for you?"

"I trust you." Hatsumi said. The way she said it though, somehow filled Shinogu's heart. She trusted him to do more than just order her foreign food, she trusted him with her life, with her heart.

* * *

The later it got into the evening the more beautiful girls had come out. They seemed to blossom at night, blossom in the several dozens, and they all looked at Shinogu. Hatsumi wasn't holding his hand or showed any intimate signs of being with him, it just seemed like she was a friend, or worst yet a sister, out for the evening with someone of the opposite sex.

"Something bothering you Hatsumi?" they had started walking back to Shinogu's apartment. "I mean you hardly spoke at dinner, did you not like the place? I'm sorry."

"No, no, not at all Shinogu!" she didn't want him to think that his efforts for the evening were wasted, in fact she shamefully but highly enjoyed herself. It was just…

"Hey, excuse me." A rather curvy girl appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of them with an impish grin on her coral red lips. "Are you busy tonight?" she was clearly addressing Shinogu, in fact she probably didn't know Hatsumi existed in the same space. "Want to go out, get a drink? I'm sure we'll have a good time!"

"Ah," Shinogu was caught off guard just nearly as much as Hatsumi was. All these years he didn't know how to approach girls, he never really showed any interest in them, all he ever wanted was Hatsumi. All his female friends, truth was they were once girls that approached him in a romantic way, but eventually learned that Shinogu's heart could never be turned from the mystery girl he showed endless amounts of love for.

"Well, what do you say?" The girl prompted once more.

"Ah, no. I'm sorry, I'm flattered but I'm already busy tonight. You see, I'm out on a date already." Shinogu told the girl, a sheepish smile covering the corners of his mouth.

"What?" the girl said, looking around. "With who!?"

Shinogu took Hatsumi's hand, drawing her closely to him. "With this fine young woman."

The other girl seemed dumbfounded and looked over Hatsumi. "Humph, couldn't tell you were together. My bad." And without another word, or an apology to Hatsumi she vanished down the street, her hips swaying like a skank.

"Sorry Hatsumi." Shinogu apologized, "I didn't mean to put you in that situation."

"You could have gone with her…" Hatsumi told him barely above a whisper. "I wouldn't have mind."

"Hatsumi." He said with disbelief.

"I mean, she was pretty in a way and…it wasn't like I was holding your hand or being intimate with you…" She was fighting back tears; she had set herself up for this. Because of her hesitation to claim Shinogu to be more than a brother, to break the bonds of family, the insecurity she felt weighed a hundred times heavier, the advances from other girls would be a thousand times harder to ignore, and the jealousy and bitterness would hurt her a million times more. "What I'm trying is… this isn't really a date is it? It isn't like we're official; it isn't like…I've been able to come to terms or anything." The last bit of her statement came out in a near hysteric; she was having difficulty sorting her emotions out. She knew what she wanted to feel, but she was having issues putting her sisterly love aside.

Without hesitation and what seemed to be effortless, Shinogu swept Hatsumi off her feet and into his arms. She buried her face into his chest and cried freely, her hot tears staining the front of his jacket. He carried her the remaining blocks back to his apartment, throwing the door open and shutting it with his foot. Shinogu didn't set her down at the door way but continued to carry her to the couch, he lightly placed her there. Hatsumi was still crying, her eyes red and puffy, and her nose ungracefully runny. He felt his heart ache, and kneeled in front of her, taking one of her hands in his own and touching her face with his other hand.

"Hatsumi." He cooed. She didn't respond, but took a ragged breath from her crying and refused to look at him. His hand firmly, but thoughtfully, made her face him. The dark colors of Shinogu's eyes bore into her own. He was trying to calm her down. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for tonight to end up like this. I really just wanted to go out with you and let you have a good time. You've done so much for me I just wanted to show you my gratitude. I didn't mean to upset you by saying we were on a date."

Hatsumi shook her head violently. "It's not your fault Shinogu!" She tears continued to pour from her eyes. "It's just…We were on a date?"

"Would it upset you if it was?" he asked anxiously. Truth be told, Shinogu did think of it as a date in his own mind, but if it would calm Hatsumi down by saying it wasn't, then he would tell her it wasn't a date in any way shape or form.

"No." She replied. "No it doesn't upset me at all. I'm just…so mad at myself."

Shinogu wanted to know more, he caressed the hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. "There's no reason for you to be upset at yourself."

"I ruined tonight." Hatsumi wailed, more tears magically stormed down her cheeks.

"No you didn't," he retorted. "I had a good time tonight."

"I didn't even act as if we were on a date." She fired back, looking away. "It's my fault all those girls were looking at you! Because I couldn't quit being a scardie cat and just hold your hand openly, they just come up to you."

Shinogu felt a fever run through his body and exploded on his face, he was blushing wildly. Luckily, Hatsumi was still so ashamed of her actions that she still couldn't look in him the eyes. "It's partly my fault too," he said after a time. "I didn't hold your hand either."

"Because you didn't want to make me feel uncomfortable." Hatsumi replied quickly.

As usual, anything concerning Shinogu's actions, she was right.

"You try so hard Shinogu." She said quietly. Her hand tightened around his. "But all I can do is just make things worse for us. It's so hard to let go of what we have," Hatsumi admitted "I'm just afraid that if I lose you as my brother that I'll lose you for good. I don't know how to move forward from here, I know where I want us to be…I just don't know how to get there."

"No one said it would be easy Hatsumi." Shinogu's heart, his soul, felt so much lighter hearing this from her. Deep down, he knew that Hatsumi was ready to let go of their sibling relationship, she only needed time. After all, he was her brother for over a decade…In what sane universe does anybody starting loving their brother as a man because they found out they weren't biologically related. Letting go of such a deeply imbedded bond would be difficult for anybody. Shinogu knew it would be particularly hard for Hatsumi, who placed family highly on her list of priorities. "I'm just trying to make it a smoother ride by-"

"Annulling the adoption." She finished for him. Having Shinogu change his last name, and legally not be part of the family, was quite the obstacle for Hatsumi to overcome. But she had finally come to terms with it. If Shinogu was no longer legally a Narita, he would be free to pursue Hatsumi as any other normal male, without the scorns of society drawing dangerously close. It would also be the first step to building the foundation that was needed for Hatsumi's and Shinogu's relationship.

"We don't have to worry about seeing each other until I have the paperwork settled, if that makes things easier for you." He told her.

She shook her head again. "No. No, I don't think that would do me any good."

"Then we'll just keep taking things really slow. I mean, we don't have to hold hands or anything, or keep going on dates. Not until you're entirely comfortable."

She sighed, "I'm so sorry Shinogu I-"

All night Hatsumi had been finishing his sentences, this time he wanted to finish hers. "I'm just glad you're comfortable enough to want to start down this road with me," he said with squeeze of her hand, a stroke to her face, "that's all I really want Hatsumi, is just for you to want to try. It doesn't matter how slowly we walk together, as long as we're side by side."

Hatsumi's tears ceased to exist at this point. It was so calming to know that Shinogu was willing to accept the fact that Hatsumi was trying. He knew that she wanted to love him, the way he loved her, but they had to take things slowly in order for her to adjust to their new situation.

She fell forward into Shinogu's body, her arms wrapped around his neck, and they fell with a thud to the floor. Hatsumi laughed, the last of her tears falling from the corner of her eyes. She listened to his heart beat, as they laid there on the cold wooden floor for a minute. "I really should get you home; I don't think we have time to get you on the train." Shinogu spoke, breaking the silence.

"Ah, you're right." Hatsumi let go of her grasp around Shinogu, and sat up. She studied him for moment, he looked happier then usual…But the same could be said about Hatsumi, being able to explain herself to Shinogu and for him to understand lifted the weight of the world off her shoulders.

"Let me call you a cab." Shinogu picked himself off the floor, and strolled to the house phone. Hatsumi heard him recite his address; he came back over to her and said: "Should be here in a few minutes." He held his hand out, helping Hatsumi off the ground.

They waited outside, Hatsumi standing close to him feeling the warmth of his body next to hers. The cab arrived a minute or so later; Shinogu gave the driver the Narita address and opened the door for her. "Good night Hatsumi, I'll see you soon okay?"

She nodded and reached for his hand, and leaned in close to his ear. "Hey, Shinogu."

"Yeah?"

Hatsumi paused for a moment; Shinogu could feel her breath against his ear lobe. "Do you love me?" It was a selfish question, a question she knew the answer to…but wanted to hear for her own security. She felt dreadful for even asking him this, because the roles should have been reversed. Shinogu should have been asking her this question to make himself feel secure; he was the one in dire need of reassurance, not Hatsumi.

"Yes," he told her into her ear, his voice low and dangerously enchanting. "I love you Hatsumi."

It was the push that she needed. "Promise?" She asked childishly.

"I promise."

Hatsumi smiled beautifully, a smile that Shinogu had never seen before. It radiated across her entire body, transmitted in her very being. She was filled with love and confidence. She smiled a smile that only love could produce. And that smile was for him. She turned her face eloquently to Shinogu, and lightly, with no fear of any consequences, she kissed him. Their lips met for a brief spell, and the kiss was small and feathery, but it was enough to send Shinogu to the other side of the universe and back. Hatsumi didn't have to say I love you verbally, the tiny kiss she gave to him said enough.

Pulling away, Hatsumi let out a nervous giggle, a rosy hue over her face started to surface. "Ill talk to you later."

She got into the cab; Shinogu closed the door for her. The car drove away, but Shinogu stood there, watching the vehicle inch further away. The cab was clear out of site, and he was still clearly star struck from the kiss he had shared with Hatsumi. Little by little his senses returned and the small miracle that just happened registered in his brain.

Shinogu let out a cheer of joy so loud that it echoed throughout the neighborhood.

* * *

Yes! Chapter one, finished! I know it was kind of slow, but I wanted to set the theme for the entire overview of the story. I really have more in store for this fiction of mine. I just want to explore situations that Shinogu and Hatsumi will encounter as a couple. I really want to take time to develop Hatsumi's feelings correctly, in all honestly I don't want her to wake up one day and be head over heels. Hatsumi was never that kind of girl when it came to love, that was more Akane's style, and I want to stay true to character. So bear with me, and Hatsumi, as she becomes more comfortable and in love with Shinogu. By the end of it all, the emotional development will really be the most rewarding!...and the lemon. I mean, I got to write a lemon, it's just what I do!

So please look forward to future chapters and exploits of Hatsumi and Shinogu! We'll venture to Shinogu's university, Hatsumi dealing with his fan clubs, first month anniversaries, the joys of spending the night at his apartment, and the decisions Hatsumi makes concerning her future for school, career, and her life with Shinogu. (Those of you who read HGS should recall, she was in her senior year in the book. In my story its already winter for the most part, so graduation is a few months away!)Please continue to show your support! Thank you very much for taking the time to read my fan fiction and I hoped you enjoyed it!

**_-Scarlette_**

"_Aint no rest for the wicked." –Cage the Elephant. _


	2. Promise 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Hot Gimmick or Hot Gimmick S, or its characters.

Author's Notes: I'm so excited to keep writing this story! I've come to terms with the fact that this fiction will most likely not get many hits or views (and no reviews); there isn't a huge fan base for Hot Gimmick like there is for Bleach or some other manga/anime. But that doesn't bother me too much, this is like a pet project of mine and no matter how unpopular it might be I know I'll be proud of what I produce. And as long as one other person enjoys it, then I think I've completed a job well done. So if you're that one person who enjoys this fan fiction, here's to you! Cheers!

_**-Scarlette. **_

* * *

Hatsumi rolled around in her bed, the sheet tangling in her feet and getting caught between her legs. The alarm clock buzzed loudly and repeatedly for several moments. She groaned, "Time to get up already?" Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she pushed the alarm off and let out a sigh. It was one of those days where she could tell she would be sluggish.

A soft jingling chime came over from her desk; her cell phone received a text message. "Hm? Who could it be so early in the morning?" A yawn escaped past her lips and slowly Hatsumi made her way to her phone, flipping it open.

One Unread Message: Shinogu.

Hatsumi smiled and opened the message.

Morning! Get out of bed already or else you'll be late for school. Got work after classes, I'm covering a co-wroker's shift at the club. Have a good day and study hard!

It was a pretty plain message, and if anyone else read it they would have never guessed Hatsumi and Shinogu were supposed to be dating. If one could call it that. Shinogu declared that they would take it slow, even if they didn't act like a dating couple; it was good enough for him to at least have Hatsumi stand by him and slowly make the changes that she needed. He had so much patience with her…

She looked at the message with soft eyes.

They didn't see each other every day, or even talk to each other for that matter. Shinogu was giving her the space she needed without feeling overwhelmed. They did, however, talk more often then what they use to. That was some improvement to say the least. He was putting his best foot forward every day, and all Hatsumi could do was manage the occasional event…

Two weeks ago she kissed Shinogu for the first time…

Her cheeks were set ablaze just remembering the feel of her lips against his.

But since then she hadn't made any other attempts to be intimate with her better half. Hatsumi thought on several occasions to ask Shinogu out, but decide against it, using _his_ busy schedule as _her _excuse to not ask him out. It wasn't like she didn't want to see him, she really did, and she just wasn't sure how to go about it. And then there was the apartment complex to worry about…Everyone knew Shinogu was part of the family, a Narita, what would those evil witches say if they noticed a brother and sister being romantic. Hatsumi had caused enough trouble for her family when she was involved with Ryoki, the last thing she wanted to do was stir up any more. She was sure Shinogu felt the same way. Every time he would stop by at the house to say hello or pick up the odd item he would keep a safe distance away from Hatsumi unless he was entirely sure there weren't any prying eyes around.

He was always restraining himself, either because of other people's judgments or because of Hatsumi's barriers. She bit her lower lip, feeling a surge of guilt wash over her. Shinogu meant so much to her, and she had to show that to him more often, even if it met pushing her comfort limits. She sent a reply to Shinogu's text:

"What time is you last class over?"

She closed her phone and set it back on the desk, there was no use hovering over it, it wouldn't make him reply any faster. It would be best if she just walked away from it and not think about Shinogu's reply. Hatsumi stared at her cell phone for several moments longer, no texts messages.

Sighing at her stupidity, she went to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Toothbrush in hand she began to clean her teeth and examining herself in the mirror. The bags of sleep under her eyes started to erase away, but her hair was an utter mess. She would have to spend a few more minutes trying to tame it this morning. Rinsing out her mouth, Hatsumi trailed back to her room and heard the light chiming of her cell phone. Racing over, she snatched her pone in her greedy fingers, flipping it open with lightning sped.

One Unread Message: Shinogu

"Should be out by four, something up?"

Hatsumi smiled, holding the phone close to her. He would be out of class by four, that would be enough time for her to leave school and get on the train to his university.

"Nothing, just wondering."

She sent as a reply.

She wanted to surprise him, even just a little. Knowing Shinogu though, he probably already knew what Hatsumi was planning. She had to do something different, even the smallest thing, to at least throw him off just a bit. She marched up and down her room, Shinogu wasn't the type of person to easily be surprised, even the most secret birthday parties the family threw for him he somehow managed to know they were going to happen. Hatsumi looked over at the clock, 7:24.

"Argh! Get ready and think at the same time Hatsumi!" She yelled at herself. She flung open her closet, where her school uniform hung and began to pull it on. Her hair really wouldn't get the attention that it needed for the day, but she would have to live with that, as long as it looked decent by the time she went to visit Shinogu. Zipping up the back of her skirt, she reached for her bra and shirt; it was then that the idea hit her like a truck.

The ring.

Snapping her bra on, Hatsumi moved over to her desk and opened a drawer. The black velvet box sat there, neatly and quietly. It was the ring that Shinogu has given to her for her birthday, she never felt comfortable wearing it. It had to be such an expensive piece of jewelry, but the sentimental value was worth more than all the gold in the world to Hatsumi. If she ever lost it, she wouldn't know what to do. That's why she kept it safely tucked away at all times, occasionally taking it out to look at it with a dreamy sigh.

Shinogu only asked her to hold onto it, not wear it. Smiling Hatsumi thought it would rather please him to know, better yet to see her wear the ring he had given to her.

Gingerly, she opened the box and with extreme care removed the ring. She held it in her fingers, the morning light reflecting off of the small diamond that lay in the center. Her heart fluttered with excitement just looking at it. She began to slip it onto her finger, but stopped. Something seemed wrong with her putting it on herself…Shinogu was the one who gave her the ring, and it held the most importance to him, it only seemed right that he would be the one to put it on her finger. That is, Hatsumi reminded herself, only when the time was right.

"Then how to wear it?" she asked herself. Looking around the room, Hatsumi eyed her very seldom used jewelry box. There could be something of use in there, she thought as she opened it up. A few pieces of cheap jewelry lay in the box, groaning Hatsumi shifted through her belongings. Moving a bracelet aside she found a small golden chain. It had once held a different center piece, but Hatsumi had lost it years ago. "This will do!" She pulled the chain out, and delicately slipped the ring onto it.

It's probably best I wear it this way, Hatsumi told herself, that way I can tuck it under my shirt so no one at school will bother me about wanting to see it. She fingered the ring with affection, if she could help it no one but her and Shinogu would ever touch it, Hatsumi would forever protect it.

* * *

Hatsumi let out a groan of dismay as she raced to get out of the train station. She looked down at her cell phone: 3:45.

She had fifteen minutes to navigate the busy streets and find Hitsotsubashi University. "Okay, it's okay!" Hatsumi coached herself. "I can do it!" Taking in a deep breath, Hatsumi dived into the crowd, pushing past several mobs, dashed across the road to make it in time for changing cross signs, and said more apologies over her shoulder then she cared to count.

* * *

The school's tall buildings seemed to loom over the rest of the city and gave off the aura of prestige genius. Hatsumi swallowed hard, staring up the buildings, she never visited Shinogu at school before. This was the first time she had ever seen the facility…or facilities. The campus was made of several clumps of large stream line buildings grouped together in various places. It was so intimidating from the front; she hadn't even set foot on the actual school grounds yet.

Beside's her nervousness, Hatsumi swelled with pride. Shinogu was the brightest in the family and all his hard work took him to one of the best universities in Japan. They really weren't related, she reminded herself, she wasn't very bright to begin with barely managing a C average in her school courses. As with Shinogu…she took a look at the school again, that was more than enough to remind her how intellectual he was.

Her sprits lightly dampened, Hatsumi took the ring out from underneath her shirt, letting it openly been seen on around her neck. She felt the cool touch of the gold beneath her finger tips and smiled slightly. She didn't come here to compare brilliance to Shinogu's but rather to find him.

"Oh no. I don't know where his class is."

Hatsumi stared bewildered at the building, not because of their sheer size anymore, but Shinogu could have been in any of them, on any floor, in any room, leaving in any direction. She didn't think this through; she should have asked Shinogu what class he was going to be in the very least. Hatsumi's brain went into overdrive: You've got his number, stupid. Whipping out her cell phone she hit a speed dial button, Shinogu's number appearing on her screen, she listened intently on her phone. One ring, two rings, three, four, five, six…Voice mail. He didn't pick up his phone. Hatsumi ran a frustrated hand through her hair and looked around, she had no idea where he could have been, and the campus was just too big to try and look for him.

"What a terrible idea," she whimpered to herself. Hatsumi sat on a bench and stared at her phone, praying that Shinogu would call her back, but no such luck. I can't plague him with calls every minute, she thought to herself, just wait it out and call in another ten minutes. She sat there, staring the building, a dumb founded look on her face.

"A high school student?"

Hatsumi heard from behind her, she ignored the voices.

"Is she thinking about applying here?"

"Seriously? Look at her uniform its Takazono, right?"

"Oh yeah, you're right! My neighbor's delinquent son goes there I think."

Hatsumi bit her lip. "Just ignore them, ignore them." She whispered to herself. Desperately she glanced at the time on her cell phone, it hadn't been ten minutes since her last phone call, but five was good enough. She hit Shinogu's number once more. "Pick up, pick up please." The phone rang, and rang, and rang, and rang, and then voice mail. Hatsumi sighed, maybe he had his phone in his bag and couldn't hear it, or feel it vibrate, and Shinogu wouldn't intentionally ignore her phone calls.

A group of students, all woman, walked in front of Hatsumi, a few of them looking at her but the majority minding their own business, ignoring the fact that a high school student was anywhere near them.

"Ah, did you see him today?" One of the girls asked another.

"Of course! Caught a glimpse of him before he went into class."

"I hear Rie was lucky enough to even talk to him today!" The girl proceeded to playfully push a rather beautiful girl with long dark hair.

She smiled, "Just for a bit, he was in a hurry though." Rie told the pack of girls around her.

"That's Narita-san for you, he's so kind!"

The girls all let out longing sighs at once. Hatsumi looked up at them, dumbstruck. Were they talking about Shinogu? It couldn't be, Hatsumi said to herself, there could be tons of other Narita's at this school.

"Narita doesn't suit him." One the girls proclaimed. "I wish we could call him by his first name! Shinogu is such an adorable name!"

"Or are you trying to say Shinogu is adorable, not his name?" Another replied with a giggle.

A nerve seemed to erupt in Hatsumi's forehead, they _were_ talking about Shinogu.

"God, he's so handsome I can't stand it!"

"I know, right! I would kill just to spend an evening with him. But every time I ask him, he always declines! I mean, I even tried to ask him today after our last class." Rie informed the others.

"Ah, excuse me." Hatsumi stood from her seat. She really didn't want to converse with any of these girls, she felt annoyed just being around them. But one, Rie, had at least some kind of information as to where Shinogu just was. "Narita Shinogu, can you tell me where to find him?"

The girls looked around at each other, and then at Hatsumi. They were examining her. "What's it to you?" Rie asked.

"I'm here to see Shinogu." Hatsumi said. Her voice wavered just a bit; she really didn't like confronting people. It should have been an innocent question with a polite answer, but Hatsumi felt like she was stepping in a den of wolves.

"Shinogu?" Rie echoed. "What right do you have to call him with such intimacy, huh?"

Hatsumi wasn't exactly sure how to reply. "Oh, I'm his sister." Didn't seem right. "Oh, we're dating" would have been more appropriate but if she said that she felt as if all the girls would have attacked her out of pure spite.

"So what do you want Narita for, huh?" The girls demanded again.

"She has no business with him I'm sure," Rie said. "Probably some random high school girl with a stalking habit." Hatsumi could feel Rie's malicious gaze on her, picking apart her school uniform, passing judgment.

"You're wrong!" Hatsumi cried. "Shinogu and I are da-"

"Hatsumi?" She turned around; Shinogu was standing behind her, a curious look on his face. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Ah, Shinogu!" Hatsumi let out a sigh of relief; she put distance between herself and the other pack of girls, standing closer to her knight in shining armor. "Well, I um, I came to walk with you to work." She mumbled lowly enough only for him to hear

He smiled. "Yeah, I would like that." He began to turn on his heel, Hatsumi in close pursuit.

"Narita-san!" Rie called out to him. "How about going out tomorrow?"

"Sorry." Shinogu told her. "I have plans for tomorrow."

"With who!?"

"Somebody special." He took Hatsumi's hand, "Somebody very important to me."

* * *

They crossed the street, hand in hand, silently making their way to Shinogu's work place. They hadn't said a word since they left campus, it made Hatsumi slightly nervous. Was he mad with her? She did after all just show up at his university, in her uniform no less. Shinogu was now tied to somebody who went to Takazono, a rather undistinguished public school. Did she just ruin any kind of reputation Shinogu had? Hatsumi cringed at the thought. "Shinogu, I'm so sorry." She said, breaking the silence. "I didn't mean to show up today, I know it was a real inconvenience! And now people are aware that you know somebody from Takazono, they might start rumors."

"Let them," Shinogu replied sharply. "I don't care what people say. You only go to Takazono because mom and dad can't afford to send all of us to private institutions. It doesn't matter where you go anyway Hatsumi." He paused for a moment, and squeezed her hand comfortingly. "And you weren't an inconvenience." Shinogu smiled softly, a whisper of a pink across his cheeks. "I'm really glad that you came."

Hatsumi let out a short chuckle, she was glad that Shinogu wasn't upset about her sudden appearance at his school.

"I didn't think you'd actually come," Shinogu admitted to her. "I mauled over the idea that you'd be there, but you didn't ask where my class would be or anything else, so I thought you wouldn't show."

"Honestly," Hatsumi said sheepishly, "I forgot to ask where your class was. It didn't occur to me until I got there."

"I thought of that too," Shinogu said with a laugh.

"I called!" Hatsumi fired back, "Twice!"

"Oh yeah?" Shinogu said with surprise. He fumbled with his bag for a moment and dug out his cell phone. "Ah, man. I'm sorry Hatsumi, I had it on silent."

She laughed, "Its okay! Really!" She assured him. "It worked out in the end, right? You found me after all."

"How about I give you my class schedule, that way we can avoid something like this again?"

Hatsumi blushed, "Is that okay? I don't want to intrude or anything or cause any trouble for you."

"You aren't trouble." Shinogu told her firmly. "Just send me a text or something, let me know that you're coming."

Hatsumi nodded. Her heart sang with utter delight in her chest, she had Shinogu's class schedule. It seemed so trivial but it made her ecstatic. She was also sure that a certain pack of she- wolves would have felt the same way. If they had Shinogu's class schedule, she imagined they would have been at every corner Shinogu turned if they could have been. Hatsumi bit her lip, it had dawned on her that those girls were part of the infamous Shinogu Fan Club at his school, and most likely a small portion of the whole. "H-hey, Shinogu…"

"Yeah?"

"Those girls…are they class mates of yours?"

"Some," he replied. "I really don't know. I don't pay attention to all the people in my classes."

"Oh." Hatsumi said flatly.

They stopped at another traffic light, people crowding around them. "Why?" he asked.

"I-I don't know." Hatsumi found herself fumbling with her words as usual. Was it alright to let Shinogu know they all _liked_ him? It pained her to know that so many other girls, fan clubs, idolized him. It annoyed her, it bothered her, and it irritated her so much Hatsumi found it unbearable. "They just talked rather…fondly…about you."

The light turned green, but Shinogu and Hatsumi still stood on the corner letting others push past them. Shinogu leaned down and whispered into Hatsumi's ear, "You want to know the truth? I didn't even realize they were there, they were invisible to me, I only saw you."

Hatsumi's heart began to race dangerously fast listening to Shinogu. She could feel his breath linger on her skin; it sent a delicious electric feeling up her spine. She wanted to say something similar to Shinogu, to tell him that when he was around, nothing else mattered; it all just seemed to vanish. When she was with Shinogu all she could focus on was him. Focus on his smile, his eyes, his beautifully cut facial features, his rough large hands, delicate fingers, and long legs- no wonder he had a fan club, he was probably one of the most attractive men in all of Japan. Tightening her grip on Shinogu's hand Hatsumi drew herself closer to him. Things were starting to change for her; emotionally she was evolving and growing.

They had finally reached the club that Shinogu was covering a shift at, it was still closed from the front but the back door was open for the employees. The windows were closed up front, the flashy night lights turned off; the club wouldn't be alive until the sun was setting. "Going to be late shift?" Hatsumi asked. The walk from Shinogu's university to his work seemed rather short, Hatsumi was hoping for a little more time.

"Usually is here." He replied. "Thanks for swinging by today Hatsumi, it really meant a lot to me."

"I take it you won't let me hang around until your shift is over." She said lowly.

Shinogu's eyes widened slightly with surprised, but he smiled warmly. "I can't let you stay out that late; I'm already uncomfortable just letting you get home by yourself."

"I can manage the train system alone…"

"That doesn't mean I don't want to take you." He reached out and stroked her cheek

Hatsumi was left speechless for a moment; all she could manage for her reply was a blush across her cheeks and a delicate up turning of the corners of her mouth. She looked to Shinogu to say her goodbye but paused for a spell, he was looking intently at her neck. "Oh," she said, touching the ring.

The glimmer of the gold in the sunlight had caught his attention and what he saw his brain couldn't register for a second. Is she really wearing it? It's not just some sick joke? He thought to himself. His heart pounded in his chest, so hard, so fast with happiness he felt as if it couldn't be contained for a second longer. "You're wearing the ring." He echoed out loud for Hatsumi to hear this time.

"Ah, yeah!" She replied cheerfully, but obviously embarrassed.

"I'm glad." Was all Shinogu could manage to say. Words failed him, he had no idea what to say, how to express his feelings. Was there any word, in any language, that could describe the sheer joy that he felt? He reached out for Hatsumi, and gathered her into his arms, embracing her tightly. His arms clasped around her back, his finger entwining amongst themselves ensuring his hold over her would not loosen till he was ready to let her go. Would he ever be ready to let her go? If time would allow it, he would have stood there for all eternity pressed against the one person he found most precious, the one girl that stole his heart and forever hold it.

"I didn't want to put it on my finger," Hatsumi explained, smothered into Shinogu's chest.

"Why not?" he asked, he showed no indication of letting her go in the near future.

"Well," she listened to his heart beat. It thudded and pounded against his chest, practically in sync with hers. "I thought it would have been nice if _you _put it on my finger."

Shinogu paused for a second, "I would love to." Hatsumi felt one of his hands travel up her back and to her neck, he left an exhilarating tingling wherever he touched. He undid the clasp of the necklace and held the ring, "Give me your hand," Shinogu ordered softly. Hatsumi abided, lifting her hand anxiously, her eyes studying his every move. She could feel his heart race faster, she could hear his heart beat louder and wondered if Shinogu could hear her own heart mimicking his. He did.

With great care he took Hatsumi's hand in his and glided the ring onto her finger. They both looked at each other and smiled. Hatsumi let out a giggle, and buried herself further into Shinogu's chest. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Now, it's not a proper ring…" Shinogu began. "But that should tell others that you're taken."

Hatsumi detached herself from his chest and looked up at him with a questioning face. "What do you mean?"

Shinogu sighed, "You didn't notice, did you?"

"Notice what?"

"They were all _looking_ at you." Shinogu responded.

Something in his voice told Hatsumi that he was agitated, but she was still clueless as to what he was talking about. "Who?"

He let out another sigh, a defeated look on his face. Of course Hatsumi wouldn't know, he reminded himself, she isn't the type of girl to pick up on things like that. "Other guys…" He managed to say after a pause. "As soon as you were on campus I'm sure there were several ready to ask you for your number, I even had to tell one to back off before I got to you."

Before Hatsumi could even comprehend what she was told, or even retort to his statement, Shinogu spoke again: "The ring will tell others that you're with somebody."

Hatsumi's face turned scarlet at this, but instead of feeling embarrassed she felt a sudden wave of relief crash against her. She was Shinogu's. Her heart sang wildly with delight, but she looked down at his hands and thought of the hordes of girls that also found Shinogu attractive. "But what about you?" she asked, he wasn't wearing any indication that he was with Hatsumi. "A ring probably wouldn't be the best idea…" she said and then paused, men wearing rings held more meaning then women, usually it meant he was married, not dating somebody. The blush on Hatsumi's face deepened.

Shinogu's sensed where her train of thought was leading. Marriage would be later in their lives and he didn't want to scare Hatsumi with the thought, she was just beginning to understand that they were dating, that they were no longer siblings but a couple. The idea of marriage would be too intimidating for her. As much as it pleased him to think that someday he would marry Hatsumi, there was still many a things to be done before the event could happen, and for now Shinogu was beyond delighted to have Hatsumi say (in her own way) that he was her boyfriend. "You don't need to worry about that," he kissed her forehead and continued to hold Hatsumi close, "Ill gladly tell anybody, everybody, that we're dating."

Hatsumi smiled widely and stood on her tip toes. She touched Shinogu's lips with her own, another delicately light kiss placed firmly on his mouth, the second they had shared. "I don't think the ring should do all the talking for me." She told him. "Can I tell everybody that we're dating too?" They both knew that they had to be careful who they told, primarily the residents of the housing complex, but the thought that they could be open about their relationship was a great comfort. "I want to say that you're my- my…" Hatsumi felt her face rise several more degrees, "I want to tell others that you're my boyfriend Shinogu!"

"I am?" he interrogated. It was Shinogu's turn to be reassured that he was loved. He yearned for this moment for so long, dreamt of it for years, to have Hatsumi declare that she was his and he was hers.

"Yes, you are."

"Your promise?" he quoted Hatsumi from the other night.

She laughed, tears of joy escaping the corner of her eyes, "I promise!"

* * *

Ah, chapter two! Done! I'm in a huge "fluff mode." I know everyone really wants to get to the nitty gritty of the relationship, but I feel its super important to emphasize little moments like these! It makes the relationship that much more believable and better to build upon!

In this chapter I really wanted to make a scenario where the two are forced to admit to each other that they're dating- hence the Shinogu fan clubs and such- and get them out of that stand still of "okay, we're dating but we're not acting like it." It was so hard to contain all the gush and romance I wanted to write for them while the character themselves weren't at that level of romance, so I'm really excited to be moving on from the awkward and unsure events of Shinogu's and Hatsumi's relationship into a much more lovey dovey state (for lack of better description) I hope that the rest of you are looking forward to it too!!!

Next chapter we explore CHRISTMAS! Ah, the cliché chapter of: "What do I get him for a present?" I find it appropriate for the story's time line and it fits rather well with the holiday season dawning upon us, the readers. I'm thrilled just thinking about the events I have planned out for our couple! Sexy bras and panties oh my! That's just a hint! So please continue to show your support, and I sincerely hope that you've enjoyed the story thus far!

_**-Scarlette. **_

"_Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."  
__-Robert A. Heinlein_


	3. Promise 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Hot Gimmick or Hot Gimmick S

Author's Notes: Oh, chapter three, how I've looked so forward to writing you. In fact, I started writing this chapter as soon as two was posted…that's how excited I was! I give thanks to those of you who continue to read "I Promise," and even favorite the story! It's such a great honor to know that there's another person out there who enjoys what I've been posting, and for that I'm very grateful!

In this chapter we explore Christmas! The cliché situation of, "what do I get him/her?" I'm going to try my best to not make this something we've all read several different times in several different mangas or stories, so please bare with me!

-Scalette.

* * *

Hatsumi stared at the calendar, her eyes intensely focused on the number22.

Three days was all she had left to think of a present, buy it and work up the courage to give it to Shinogu. If Christmas itself even counted as a day of preparation…It didn't. She had to have the present _by _then, that left her with only two days. "Oh my god, how could I let this HAPPEN!?" Hatsumi wailed, still burning her gaze into the calenderer. "What do I do?!"

"Ohmigosh Hatsumi, shut your mouth already!" Akane, Hatsumi's much cuter and younger sister, came out of her room an annoyed look on her face. "You've been standing in the hallway all morning groaning about Christmas presents. You know for as long as you've been standing there, ya could have been out shopping."

Hatsumi looked as if she was about to cry, Akane was right. She stared at the calendar all morning long, wallowing in herself pity, "Akane, what do I do!?" she asked desperately.

"Go shopping, duh." Akane answered matter of factly.

"I know that!" Hatsumi shot back. "But, but, but I don't know what to buy…!"

"Hellooooo! Earth to Hatsumi! The family gave you a Christmas list, all you have to do is buy what's on the list."

"That isn't it!" Hatsumi cried out. Shopping for her family was simple, she knew them well enough, and was confident that no matter what she got for any family member they would have been appreciative. She was worried about something, or someone, entirely different. "I don't know," she hesitated, a pathetic look on her face, "I don't know what to get Shinogu for Christmas."

Akane lifted an eyebrow in interest, a mischievous smirk on her face. "Oh?" she said with a small chirp. She had been fully aware of the romantic relationship her older sister had, with her once pervious brother.

* * *

After Shinogu had been released from the hospital, he paid a formal visit to the family stating that he would be officially dissolving his adoption into the Narita family. The process would take time, and he would still have the Narita name for several more months, but he would eventually be legally known as Shioyona Shinogu. At this news Hatsumi felt her heart both ache with sadness and excitement. It was during this visit; the entire family gathered around the table, that the other's members began to piece the situation together. Their mother had already been aware of Shinogu's feelings for their eldest daughter, and approved of the relationship without any second thoughts. Father, on the other hand, had to take several moments before he could even say anything.

"Well, it works out for the best," Father mumbled, "I trust Shinogu, love him as my own, and I suppose I wouldn't have it any other way. He's the only one capable of taking care of Hatsumi."

Akane only hummed at the news, the usual impish grin on her face. "Oh yeah, totally makes sense now!"

* * *

"Akane, just don't sit there and make fun of me." Hatsumi fumed. "I don't know what to get Shinogu!" Ever after a decade of celebrating such events with Shinogu many would think Hatsumi would have had his gift shopping down to an art, but even before the romantic escapades, she always had difficulty finding a present for Shinogu. She sighed out loud again, and now things were even more complicated. Hatsumi always wanted to get something nice for Shinogu around the holidays, but now she wanted to get something positively _special_.

"I dunno Hatsumi," Akane told her, "I always got Shinogu a tie for Christmas."

"Akane!" Hatsumi retorted. She was hoping her sister would be more helpful than this.

"What?!"

"What would you get for Subaru for a gift?" Hatsumi asked.

Akane shrugged, "Subaru is probably the easiest boyfriend to shop for. I'd get him a Gundam model of some sort."

Hatsumi made a face; she definitely wouldn't be buying Shinogu a Gundam. But she envied Akane just a bit, her boyfriend had interests that were easy to purchase. "But what would get Subaru as a girlfriend? Something special."

"A gundam." The younger sister replied point blank. Hatsumi let her draw drop, was Akane being serious? Did her younger sister not understand what she was asking? "Ohmigod Hatsumi! I was joking. I know what you meant," Akane said. She waved her hand lazily in the air, as if she was swatting away Hatsumi's stupidity. "I'm baking for Subaru this year. He's complained once that I don't pack a bento for him, so I think he'll like the idea that I've cooked for him."

Hatsumi smiled. "That's go great Akane!"

"Yeah, yeah." Akane replied with a small blush. "But that doesn't help you much; you've cooked for Shinogu before."

The elder sister bit her lip, Akane was right. Hatsumi was back to square one again.

"I think you should do something out of character for Shinogu," Akane said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm cooking for Subaru!" Akane mentioned again. "And I don't cook often; you see what I'm saying?" Hatsumi did understand this concept. She pondered thoughtfully for a moment, but looked at her younger sister again, the defeated look on her face. Akane sighed out loud, "You owe me big for this, ya know? You're super sweet Hatsumi! Like, way too innocent. Have you kissed Shinogu?"

Hatsumi nodded. "Yes."

"Have you made out with him?"

Hatsumi shook her head fervently.

"Really?" Akane was mildly shocked at this. "Well, there's your answer! Do something _sexy _for him!"

"S-s-s-sexy?" Hatsumi repeated a look of disbelief on her face. "Sexy like how!?"

Akane giggled. "I'm not telling you to sleep with him…yet…but that would probably be a good present in itself. Anyway, at least give him a good show." She winked and showed Hatsumi's her bra strap. "If you get my drift!"

"Are you telling me to m-m-m-mo-" Hatsumi couldn't get the rest of the sentence out of her mouth, she was embarrassed just thinking about what Akane was suggesting.

"Model lingerie for Shinogu? Hell yeah, that's what I'm telling you to do."Akane finished for her sister. She laughed, a small devil on her shoulder, and went back to her room; leaving Hatsumi to stare at the calendar once again.

* * *

The store was brightly lit, traffic of people coming in and out of the doors their purchases in bag. Hatsumi swallowed, she knew she shouldn't have been nervous; it wasn't like she was pervert. She eyed the flocks of men also coming in and out of the store, they seemed less embarrassed about the fact that they were going into a lingerie establishment then Hatsumi was, and she was a girl she was _suppose_ to wear things of the sort. She took a breath and took the step into the store.

"Welcome!" A girl, a little older then Hatsumi, said with a smile.

"Ah, hi." Hatsumi replied with a small voice.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" The store employee asked.

"No, no, just looking."

"Well, if you have any question or would like to try anything on please let me know! I'll have to open the dressing rooms for you."

Hatsumi only nodded and wandered into the store. She had never been in this specific retailer, usually she would just go to a department store to buy her under garments, but had never set foot in lingerie specialty store. The bras and panties were clearly made out of better material, cut in exotic and provocative colors and shapes, and there was more to lingerie then just your average under wear. Racy night gowns in various patterns and colors, long and short, sheer or solid, lacey or silky, were spread across the space. Dare Hatsumi say it, she felt _sexier_ just _looking_ at the selection.

She touched one night gown made out of silk and looked at the delicate detailing of lace around the neck. It was cute, and judging by the length it would hit above her knee but not expose upper thighs. It was actually a modest length compared to how short some of the girls at school wore their skirts. Hatsumi studied another night gown next to the one she was looking at, but this one was sheer. She put her hand underneath the first layer, and blushed, her hand she saw clear as day under the material. Are you supposed to wear something under this? Or just be butt naked?! Hatsumi thought to herself.

"You could wear your bra and panties under that," a voice came from behind Hatsumi. She jumped slightly, finding that it was employee who greeted her earlier. "Did you need some help; you look like a deer caught in the head lights."

Hatsumi scratched her head, clearly in a tizzy. "Honestly, I've never purchased anything like this before." She said earnestly.

"I get a lot of girls like that," the employee said with a smile. "I'm assuming you have a boyfriend?"

Hatsumi nodded.

"Yeah, a lot of girls come in for this kind of thing, just never know where to start. Did you have anything in mind?"

"No," Hatsumi mumbled. "I mean, it was just an idea. I don't even know where to start. Do I show him something like this?" she pointed at the silk night gown. "Or this?" the sheepishly lifted a finger at the see through tid bit. "Or do I just parade around in a new matching bra and panty set?"

"Depends on your boyfriend," the employee informed Hatsumi. "Some guys like the skimpy seductress, other prefer the classy enchantress. What kind of guy is he?"

Hatsumi paused for a spell, thinking of the best way to describe Shinogu. "He's very kind, and nurturing, and patient, oh is he patient…" She smiled, "He quite honest, smart, and hard working! He worries about others before he worries about himself."

The employee smiled. "Sounds like a genuine knight in shining armor. You got a picture?" Even though Hatsumi accurately described Shinogu, it told the clerk nothing about his sexual preferences. She requested a picture of the boyfriend to get a feel for him, the employee was trained to look a man and be able to tell his sexual preferences. From what she gathered, the girlfriend was still very innocent herself; she doubted that they had sex by now. The man was patient; the employee thought inwardly, someone who won't touch a girl this cute knew a great amount of self restraint.

"Oh yeah sure," Hatsumi fished around in her purse, producing her cell phone. She flipped it open and handed it to the employee. Hatsumi opened up a picture that she snapped of Shinogu several weeks back, he had just come to meet her at the front of his university's entrance smiling in greeting. She took the photo on the fly, Shinogu was a bit thrown off that she took it and bargained with Hatsumi that if she was able to take pictures so was he. In return he captured an image of his girlfriend.

The employee studied the picture of Shinogu. He was a good looking man in his early twenties, delicate black hair, and soft looking eyes. He smiled warmly and with care, obviously it was directed at the person who took the picture (Hatsumi) he was genuinely in love with her. The employee had to study him for several more moments before she could even put Shinogu into any kind of sexual preference category. He was a man in love, the employee concluded, he wasn't the type for sex or its pleasures…he was the kind of man that _made love_, felt the emotional connection. His girlfriend could have been wrapped in towel or a sheet and he would have thought she was the most beautiful goddess in all the universes, it didn't matter what she was wearing.

But Hatsumi looked rather determined to find something to wear, wanted to purchase something. It was clear she was out to please her boyfriend, and just push her comfort zones a bit. The employee handed back the cell phone to Hatsumi and took a quick look at the inventory. "Something, elegant and classic," she said after a while. It didn't matter what she put Hatsumi in, the employee could tell that her boyfriend would appreciate the effort his girlfriend was making, what mattered was finding something the customer herself, Hatsumi, would look best in and be the most comfortable with.

The employee reached for a black silk night gown. It had a low cut in the back, a deep V cut in the front, and temptingly thin straps to hold the piece up on Hatsumi's delicate shoulders. There was a lace trim at the bottom, and the length hit just at the top of her knees. The employee also picked up a matching silk robe and a risqué pair of lace panties. She held the trio of pieces together for Hatsumi to examine. "Wear the panties with the nightgown, and the robe over. No bra, got it? The night gown's front cut is quite low and wearing a bra would throw off the look."

Hatsumi nodded, still looking at the lingerie expertly chosen for her.

"You don't like it?" the employee asked.

Hatsumi shook her head, "Oh no, I have no issues with it." She said with a smile. Hatsumi wouldn't admit it out loud, but she rather liked what the employee picked out for her. It was sexy but didn't scream whore. She would feel decently comfortable wearing it, but showing it to Shinogu would be a feat of its own. "Ill take it!"

"Ill ring you up at the register, but may I say something?"

"Huh?" Hatsumi asked.

"In all honesty miss, I think something more sentimental would be appropriate for your boyfriend." The employee said with a smile.

Hatsumi stepped out of the store, a pretty opaque bag in hand. Her purchases were delicately wrapped in thin papers to prevent others from peeking down and looking at what she bought. Letting out a breath of relief, Hatsumi smiled. "I did it!" she said to herself, "But that took a good chunk of my money…" She opened up her wallet and counted the bills, she had spent close to 1,000 yen on her new lingerie. It didn't matter a whole much though, she still had plenty left over to buy everyone else in the family their presents. In the past couple of weeks Hatsumi took on her part time job at the café she was previously worked at with Shinogu and Asahi. Occasionally she would work with Shinogu, but he had other jobs that he had to hold down elsewhere. He was particularly busy in the past weeks; all his jobs were giving him extra hours for him to work because the amount of business the holidays brought in.

"I wonder if he's made plans." Hatsumi thought to herself. "Better ask him, I need at least five minutes of his time to…" she paused and looked at the bag of purchases. She hadn't really _thought_ about it just went out determined to buy lingerie. She would actually have to model the nightgown for Shinogu at some point in time; she couldn't simply wrap it up and hand it to him. How awkward would that be? Hand in a set of lingerie _she_ was suppose to wear for him. Hatsumi made a face, she gathered all her courage to just purchase the set, now she had to borrow more courage, probably from her next life, to put it on and show Shinogu. But it HAS to be done! Hatsumi coached herself in her head. I've come this far, it's no time to quit!

She dug out her cell phone from her purse once more and dialed Shinogu's number. Hatsumi wasn't quite sure where he was today, she knew that he had an early morning class but that had ended hours ago. She hoped she wasn't disturbing his work. The phone rang for a second or two, "Hello?" Shinogu's voice echoed into her ear.

"Shinogu?" Hatsumi began. "You busy? Can we talk for a moment?"

"Of course. What's going on?" He asked.

The phone seemed to vibrate back Shinogu's words a million times, usually that meant the device that was called was somewhere in close proximity, but Hatsumi didn't want to assume that. "Not a lot, say, where you at? I'm having a hard time understanding you."

"Out shopping," he replied, the phone multiplying the answer a dozen times more. "I'm at the—"

Hatsumi couldn't understand a word he said after that, the echoing had become so severe that she had to detach her phone from her ear. She looked around; maybe they were just having bad reception. But this was Japan, it was a city in Japan, bad reception was a thing of the Stone Age. And as if the seas of people parted specifically for her, she found him. Shinogu had his back turned, a hand covering one ear so he could hear the phone call better, and his cell phone on the other. She smiled, closed her phone, and bounded towards him.

Shinogu wasn't aware that Hatsumi was close by; when the phone call had been disconnected he attempted to call her again. Her phone rang for several seconds. "Shinogu?" the voice came. He was slightly confused, the phone hadn't connected yet. "Hey, Shinogu, behind you." He turned around and saw Hatsumi. "Hey there!" she raised a hand in greeting.

"Hey." He said with a grin. He closed the gap between them and placed a small peck on her cheek. "I didn't know you were here."

"Now you do!" Hatsumi replied. She had grown comfortable in the past month to reach out for Shinogu's hand and hold it in the open. Her tiny fingers weave in and out of his own, the palm of her hand resting against his. "I wanted to know if you had plans for the 25th? Are you working?"

"By some miracle I'm not," Shinogu replied. In reality, he had pulled strings at the slew of jobs he held to get the day off. He covered many co-workers shifts in the past, and he called in the favors that were owed to him. They all gladly obliged, it was a rare event for Shinogu to ask for time off, and even his high ups let him take the day off. "Why?"

"You have the entire day off?" Hatsumi answered his question, with her own.

"Yeah."

"That's great!" she beamed. "I wanted to know if you…" she fumbled with her words. Shinogu knew what she was going to ask, but wanted to hear it from her. "I mean, did you want to spend Christmas with me? I'm not doing anything either so I just thought."

"Don't want to spend it with the family?" he returned. "I can go home for the day you know." He knew how much family meant to Hatsumi, and he wouldn't mind seeing everybody else either.

"If you want to." Hatsumi mumbled. "But I would also like to spend some…alone time with you."

Shinogu smiled, caressed her face gently. "I would love that."

* * *

Shinogu pulled on his jeans, yawning as he did so. The morning was chilly and grey, "Not exactly what you would picture for a holiday." He said out loud.

There was a knock at his door, "Yo, Shinogu." Kazama, his room hate called out. "I'm not going to be home tonight, have a couple of parties to skip around to." He opened Shinogu's door and leaned in the frame. "You sure you don't want to come? Bring Hatsumi, I don't mind. She's a pretty little thing anyway, be good for you to show her off."

"Cut the crap Kazama," Shinogu snarled. Hatsumi wasn't a piece of property for him to "show off." She was her own person, and the last thing Shinogu wanted to do was be so domineering like that asshole Ryoki she dated last year.

"Hey man, didn't mean to strike a nerve. I'm just saying, if you wanna come out with Hatsumi it's cool, everyone wants to meet the girl that finally snagged the 'unattainable Shinogu,' She's a great girl, she'll get along with everyone." Kazama was a good friend, he knew the situation Shinogu and Hatsumi faced. He wasn't weired out by the fact that a brother loved his sister, didn't brand Shinogu as some kind of freak, he supported Shinogu.

"Dude, you're adopted. It's not like you're biologically related; now that would be disgusting." Shinogu recalled Kazama telling him that once. "Do what you want, do what's going to make you happy."

"Thanks for the offer Kazama, but I think Hatsumi and I will spend time with the folks, have a quiet evening together." Shinogu replied.

"Whatever floats your boat buddy. But everyone does want to meet her, just keep that in mind." Kazama turned on his heel and began to leave, but then suddenly stopped a rather large smirk on his face. "Oh yeah, you buy your own condoms man, I'm out."

Shinogu sat there dumbfounded for moment after Kazama left. Would he really need to buy condoms? He shook his head, no of course not. Hatsumi still blushed, as he did, when they kissed- were they really ready to take it to that extent? They had lived together for a brief period of time the previous year, and nothing of the sort had ever crossed his mind. But this time is different, Shingo began to argue with himself, this time you're _allowed_ to touch her. Things had changed, they were dating, and it only made sense to eventually come to the conclusion of sex…But was Hatsumi was ready? He doubted it, but as of late she had been surprising him with her sudden change of behavior. She was adjusting, and quickly, to the idea of Shinogu being her boyfriend…and quite possibly in the near future, her lover. Shingo stood there, shirt in hand, pondering if Hatsumi would be willing to go that far?

Shinogu sighed, "Better safe than sorry." He finished dressing and went down to the nearest convenience store. He wouldn't tell Hatsumi that be bought condoms, just have them tucked away in the drawer of his bed stand, there for when the time was right.

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" Their mother called out, passing out presents to each of her children, including Shinogu- he was still her son, no matter his last name or who gave birth to him.

"Thanks mom," the children said together, accepting their gifts.

Hikaru, the youngest of the sibling tore at his wrapping viciously, a clownish huge smile on his face. He couldn't manage to tear away at the corner of his wrapping; Hatsumi leaned in to help him, her younger brother sitting in her lap. Shinogu stood on the opposite side of them and watched, observing Hatsumi tenderly care for the youngest. Shinogu grinned, lost in his own thoughts.

"Shinogu?" His mother handed him another wrapped present.

"Mom," he started. "One is enough."

"I don't want to hear it." His mother retorted. "It's a present, take it."

There was no use in arguing with his adoptive mother, when she wanted something done or was intent on helping somebody there really wasn't any stopping her. Shinogu took the gift with an appreciative nod, and began unwrapping it. Past all the wrapping laid a brilliant watch, silver banded, black faced, and three ticking hands. He looked up at this mother, unable to speak. He knew it was expensive, and he didn't deserve such an extravagant gift.

"Your father and I thought it would be good to get you a watch, mark of a man." Mom said, striking a body builder's pose. "And before you even begin to worry, we all pitched it." She gestured to rest of the family. "Akane and Hatsumi specially chose this one for you."

"It's pretty good looking, right?" Akane asked. "There's something totally sexy about it. Probably why Hatsumi was the first one to notice it."

"Akane!" Hatsumi cried out. "Quit it!"

"Whatever!" Akane chirped. She stood from where she was sitting, "I gotta get going anyway!"

"Where you off to?" mother asked.

"Have to give Subaru his present sometime today." Akane shot past the rest of the family, and headed for the hallway to put her shoes and jacket on.

Sensing that this would be the best time to also part from the family, in Akane's wake, Shinogu stood and eyed Hatsumi. "We'll be going as well." He leaned over to his mother and hugged tightly. "Thank you." Was all he could manage to say.

Hatsumi stood, plopping Hikaru in her father's lap. "Give me a second Shinogu." She vanished into her room and came back. She was wrapped in a warmer jacket, a scarf tied around her neck, and bundle of presents tucked underneath her arm. She kissed Hikaru on the cheek, then dad, and mom. "Ill be home later tonight! I have to give these out today too."

"Don't lie Hatsumi!" Akane yelled from the hallway, "You're going on a date with Shinogu!" and the door slammed, indicating that she had already left.

There was an awkward silence between everyone.

"Well! It's to be suspected!" Mother cried out cheerily. "You two have fun and be safe!" She shooed them to the hallway. "Don't worry about dad," she said, it was more directed to Shinogu then Hatsumi. "He's not upset, it's just hard for him to let go of his precious first daughter. Now, have fun and behave yourselves!" She kissed both Shinogu and Hatsumi, and took a step back to look at them together. They suit each other, mom thought to herself, and let them alone.

Hatsumi looked at Shinogu, and only chuckled, not sure what else to do. It was a strange situation, but comical at the same time. "We've got a weird family."

* * *

Shinogu closed the door behind Hatsumi, turning on the light to the apartment. "I really don't have much planned for us," he informed her. "If you rather go out, that's fine. I'm sure we can find plenty to do. "

Hatsumi shook her head and held Shinogu's hand, looking at him with a soft, content smile. "No, this is enough."

Shinogu returned her smile, and lead her into the living room. "Want me to cook? You didn't eat at home." Hatsumi's stomach seemed to growl on cue, Shinogu let out a small amused snort. "Ill take that as a yes." He flipped on the TV and indicated for Hatsumi to sit on the couch, he wouldn't have a word of her helping with dinner tonight.

She sat patiently on the couch, listening to Shinogu move around in the kitchen, the sound of his cooking, the smells of the dinner he was preparing invading her nose. "Almost done!" He yelled from the kitchen

"Hey, Shinogu?" Hatsumi called.

"No." was his instant reply. "You're not helping with dinner."

She laughed. "That isn't it," she learned not to argue with Shinogu when he wanted to do something on his own, "can I use your bathroom?"

He was still in the kitchen; she could hear him plating things. A moment later, he appeared in the dining room a plate of food in his hands. "Yeah, that's fine. I should have dinner set when you get out." He went back into the kitchen to plate the remaining food.

Hatsumi stood from the couch. Got to do it now! She thought to herself. She picked up a wrapped box and with hurry raced down the hall into the bathroom. Hatsumi had been nervous all night, walking to Shinogu's her mind raced with ways to throw on the lingerie she bought. "What a stupid idea to wrap it." She was undressing herself in a hurry, neatly throwing her clothes into a corner of the bathroom. "What was I think? Hand him the package?" She unwrapped the gift and began to take out the lingerie bit by bit. "Here you go Shinogu! Merry Christmas! Here's my present to you! I'm supposed to be wearing it though." Hatsumi mimicked her stupidity out loud.

She finished putting on the lingerie and examined herself in the bathroom mirror. Hatsumi blushed at her reflection. She did as the employee of the store instructed her to do; she put on the panties and the night gown, no bra. The thin strings holding the garment to Hatsumi's body had to be adjusted so they wouldn't fall off her shoulders. "Not bad…" she said lowly. But it didn't matter what she thought, it mattered what Shinogu thought. She took the robe and wore it over the nightgown; Hatsumi tied the sash around her waist firmly. Taking a deep breath, Hatsumi opened the bathroom door and as quietly as possible she walked down the hall.

Poking her head around the corner, she could see Shinogu sitting at the table; he also caught sight of her. "Hey, dinner's done." He gestured of her to sit.

Hatsumi stayed behind the corner, her head only visible. She twiddled with her thumbs, nervous beyond her wits. You can do it, you can do it, you can do it, Hatsumi chanted in her head. "Ah, I was wondering if I could give you your Christmas present?" she asked hesitantly.

"You want to exchange gifts now?" Shinogu stood from the table and started to cross the living room. "We can do that; let me get it out of my room." He was dangerously close to the corner where Hatsumi was hiding a majority of herself.

"Shinogu wait!" Hatsumi said louder than necessary.

That made him stop in his tracks, he looked at her with concern. "Hatsumi? What's the matter?"

"N-no-nothing." She stuttered. "It's just that I'm nervous."

"About what?" he took another step towards her.

"W-wait!" Hatsumi said. She took a deep breath, gathering up whatever courage she could, and took the fateful steps away from the corner where she was hiding. S

She stood vulnerably in front of Shinogu, her face scarlet. The silky black robe was still tied shutting away the lingerie beneath. Hatsumi fumbled with the neat ribbon she had tied in the front, slowly opening the front of her robe. She didn't watch Shinogu's reaction, she was too jittery to look him in the eye, and focused hard on undoing her robe.

Shinogu though stood there rendered speechless. His heart stopped for several second in disbelief, and then raced with an untold excitement, and then stopped with disbelief, and then raced with untold excitement, repeating this pattern over and over again as he watched Hatsumi undo the front of her robe. He felt as if he would pass out from the pressure of blood surging into his head, heart, and nether regions all at once. Was this really happening? Was she really wearing-?

"Merry Christmas Shinogu," Hatsumi said, and her robe dropped to the ground exposing her lingerie.

Silence.

He said nothing.

She said nothing, but only looked at him distressed. Did he even like it? Was it the wrong thing to do?

He still said nothing.

What seemed like an eternity, Hatsumi let out a distraught laugh, breaking the thick silence between them. He hated it. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Hatsumi yelled at herself mentally. "I'm sorry Shinogu, this was obviously a bad idea. " Hatsumi's voice cracked. What was she thinking? Modeling lingerie for him? She obviously wasn't pretty enough for that. "I-I th-think I'll just go get changed and go h-home." She turned away from Shinogu ready run as if it was for her life.

He moved faster than she did.

Shinogu grabbed hold of her wrist, and with his other hand her command fully pinned Hatsumi's shoulder to the wall. They locked eyes with each other, Hatsumi on the verge of near tears. He didn't say anything when he saw the lingerie on her, he was too busy trying to contain himself, busy trying to restrain the sexual beast that wanted to ravage Hatsumi on the spot.

"You're beautiful," Shinogu whispered into her ear. "Don't change, don't go. Stay here with me." He looked at her, examining her up and down. The lingerie was masterfully cut, but Hatsumi was what made it unbearably ravishing. The garb hugged her slender body, exposing every curve that she had developed in the past years, every curve that he imagined touching. Her skin was flawlessly smooth, her scent lingering in all of Shinogu's senses. "You're so damn gorgeous Hatsumi."

His voice was low and husky, Hatsumi fell limp with desire listening to him speak, listening to him compliment her. So she wasn't horrendous looking, she felt her heart leap with relief but a second later she was filled with an excited nervousness. Shinogu was pressed against her, not an inch of her body wasn't touched by his, she was completely covered by him. Their breaths mingled together, their body heats colliding in one big explosion.

Shinogu pressed his lips hard against Hatsumi's, his hunger for her apparent every second that ticked away. Usually, a self restraining Shinogu would wait for Hatsumi to initiate the kiss; he had never once advanced on her. She had always sprung the kisses on him, at her own pace, at her own comfort level, and it never bothered Shinogu. But tonight, he didn't know how much of his sanity he could keep, didn't know how he could contain the desires. He kissed her passionately, his lips smothering hers, parting them, breathing into her mouth. Hatsumi responded, pushed her lips onto his, showing the same ferocity of eagerness. Shinogu slipped his tongue past her lips, into her mouth. Hatsumi froze for a second with shock, feeling his tongue slid against her own, but she relaxed again and let the kiss continue. Shinogu felt her responses and with solace kept kissing her. Their tongues slid past one another, against each other, twirled and danced in a way that Hatsumi thought wasn't possible for a kiss.

She needed air, she didn't know how long they had been kissing, devouring each other's lips and oxygen supply, and she didn't want to detach herself from the feel of Shinogu's lips. But she had to, it was essential to breathe if she wanted to keep living, if she wanted to live a long life standing next to Shinogu's side. Hatsumi broke the kiss, taking in a deep breath of air, oxygen filling her nose and lungs. Just a few seconds to breathe, just a few seconds to refill her system to continue on the path of bliss she was on. Shinogu had his mouth back on hers, as if reading her thoughts, knowing that it was okay to be back into their throws of passion, that her microscopic break was finished. Hatsumi returned his kiss, continued to feed Shinogu's frenzied hunger.

He let a hand travel up her leg, her side, touching her delicate skin, feeling the softness. Hatsumi moaned or gasped- she wasn't quite sure herself- into Shinogu's mouth. The way Shinogu touched her sent her senses into a chaotic bliss. Her sound fueled him even more, letting him know that what he was doing was _okay, _that he was _allowed_ to touch her in this manner. He found the approval that he sought so desperately. His touch lingered up her side, past her hip, past her waist, her rib cage, and rested on her neck. Shinogu broke the kiss this time, his lips trailed down her cheek, her chin, and stopped at her neck. He nibbled on her flesh, tasting her, savoring her. Hatsumi leaned on him for support, she felt as if she was going to collapse from the intense lust controlling her body, it nearly frightened her.

Shinogu kissed her neck softly and looked up at her. Hatsumi was flushed, her breathing deep, and she looked at him with a gaze that he had never seen before. It was a mixture of desire, yearning, for Shinogu to take her, make Hatsumi his, but there was a hint of fear in her eyes, a hint of anxiety. Shinogu softened his gaze, and kissed her forehead. He was going to stop it here, Hatsumi wasn't ready yet.

"Sh-Shinogu?" She questioned. Had she done something wrong?

He rested his chin on top of her head and didn't say anything for a while. "I think its best we stop her Hatsumi, I don't want to push you or scare you away."

Hatsumi was confused, but yet she understood. As much as she desired Shinogu physically at this moment, she wasn't mentally prepared to sleep with him. She sighed a small sigh, Shinogu understood her so well. She had no intentions of taking it this far, but she did have to keep in mind that lingerie really was made for sex. She made a mistake in buying it, made a further mistake in putting it on and showing Shinogu.

"When you're ready," he continued, "We have all the time in the world, nobody is rushing you. I'm satisfied with kisses and dates." He said with a smirk "But, this was a nice surprise. Thank you Hatsumi." Shinogu kissed her forehead again, and he kindly led her away from the wall he had her pinned down to and to the living room again. There was a blanket on the couch, and he covered Hatsumi in it. "Hold on, let me get your present."

Shinogu went to his room, and when he knew he was clear of Hatsumi, he took in a deep ragged breath. He almost lost it, almost lost his cool and self restraint. But how could anybody blame him? She was divinely clad in lingerie. It wasn't even the lingerie that pushed Shinogu over the edge, if Hatsumi simply came up to him in a rag with similar intention he would have done the same thing. It was the fact that Hatsumi displayed a sexual urge that drove Shinogu insane.

He looked over to his night stand and shook his head. "Another time," he told himself. For now he was satisfied with the events that just occurred. He had shared extremely passionate moment with Hatsumi, and she didn't turn him away. That was on hell of a homerun, Shinogu assured himself. He was doing well.

He returned to Hatsumi a minute later, a small neatly wrapped package in his grasp. Sitting next to Hatsumi, he handed it to her. "Merry Christmas, Hatsumi."

She took it and held onto it for a moment. "Thank you Shinogu!" She was afraid it was another piece of expensive jewelry. She felt guilty just looking at the package. "I got you something too." She reached over to her other side and handed him a rather large, a rather heavy, present.

"Hatsumi," Shinogu said with a tone of disapproving. "You've already given me enough. The watch, the—" dare he say lingerie? He didn't, he just looked at her, and Hatsumi knew what he meant.

"The watch is from the entire family," Hatsumi corrected him. "And well, the lingerie didn't exactly work out either." She said with a giggle.

"I'd hardly say that." He replied.

"But I wanted to give you something special, something that was from me, something that was sentimental." She leaned in closer to Shinogu. "Open it!"

He did what he was told; Shinogu opened the wrapping, careful not to tear it. In his lap laid a thick book, a photo album to be more precise. He flipped through the pages and all he saw was pictures of him and Hatsumi through the years: the playground together, celebrating each other birthdays, at festivals dressed in tradition garb, at his high school graduation, random photos of both Hatsumi and Shinogu by themselves doing random things. The last picture was of the both of them coming home after Shinogu's release from the hospital; Kazama had snapped the candid photo. The pair stood side by side, looking at each other, a warm and tender glow surrounding them.

"You like it?" Hatsumi piqued.

"Hatsumi, this is perfect. Thank you." He too leaned in closer to Hatsumi and kissed her. After their desire filled encounter Shinogu thought it was okay for him to kiss her whenever he pleased. Hatsumi would never have told him no to begin with.

"I'm glad!" she replied after Shinogu kissed her.

"Open yours." He told her, nodding at the gift she still held.

"Oh yeah!" She gingerly tore away the wrapping, and to her delight it wasn't jewelry. Instead it was a simply box, and in that box was a key. She held it up to examine it.

"It's my spare key," Shinogu explained. "So you can come by whenever you like. It would make it easier for when you visit me after my classes too. You can just wait here, instead of having to walk all the way to campus and walk back with me."

Hatsumi beamed widely, she had Shinogu's apartment key. He was giving her 24 access to his life, to his home; it was quite the gift indeed. "Shinogu!" she cried out happily, pouncing on top of him. "This is great! Thank you so much! Ill be sure not to intrude often, only every once and a while, I won't be a bother!" she fired off rapidly.

"Hey, slow down," he was laughing. "You can come by whenever you want, at any hour on any day. If you can just do me a favor and come by often, maybe even on a daily basis, I think we'll be good."

"Yes, yes!" was all she could manage to reply. "I promise!"

Shinogu didn't know what else to say, so he did the most natural thing to him: he held Hatsumi close bundled in her blanket, covered in his love. She sighed contently and rested against him. Was there any other kind of joy, happiness, that he could possibly feel? He finally had the girl that he loved, she loved him back, and they were travelling down the road of life together. For once Shinogu wasn't afraid of running out of happiness, wasn't afraid that tomorrow he would wake up and Hatsumi wasn't there anymore. He was aware that his happiness knew no limits, it had no limits. There were no limitations with the happiness that he felt with Hatsumi, the happiness that Hatsumi gave to him.

"Shinogu," Hatsumi said after a while.

He stroked her hair, "Hm?"

"I love you." she told him.

No, his happiness had no limits; it would always be an endless supply if Hatsumi was with him. "I love you too."

* * *

Chapter three! Done! Can I just say, this so far, is my favorite chapter that I've written!?

*squee*

I immensely enjoyed writing this chapter; it gave me SUCH PLEASURE to throw in a bit of spice and sexiness that this couple was LONG overdue for! To say the least, I think I write all the risqué parts pretty well! But the best part was being able to write down all the fluff and romance, it was just an awesome experience.

Concerning this chapter, I know it's rather _long_ and I probably could have broken this down into separate chapters, but I felt it would have lost the impact I was looking for when writing this. So I'm glad that you were all able to bear with the long winded-ness and finish this chapter! I really hope that you all enjoyed it, and will continue to read this story! Now that the relationship has picked up and is going in a direction we all wanted, it should make for a much more interesting read!

In the next chapter we'll visit Hatsumi at school, and the anxieties of her senior year coming to an end. She forced to look at her future's options, and where and what she'll do after graduation. Also! The couple discusses their anniversary date- exactly how long have they been dating, how long have they been official? When's their anniversary? We'll see Hatsumi use Shinogu's spare key for the first time, and to appease the smut in all of us, Ill even throw in several "hot and heavy," scenes!

…I love the hot and heavy stuff. God, I'm such a pervert! Haha.

So please look forward to the next chapter and showing your support, it's greatly appreciated!

_**-Scarlette. **_

"_It will clear up one day. No rain, no rainbow." –Home Made Kazoku._


	4. Promise 4

Disclaimer- I do not own Hot Gimmick, Hot Gimmick S or its characters.

Author's Notes: So yeah… I'm prolly facing an angry mob? I'm picturing all of you readers with pitch forks and torches – but you don't know whether to hate me for not updating for so long, or love me because I've finally updated! I won't try to make any excuses, I've simply just haven't had the time (and I'll admit, motivation) to continue on with this chapter.

I've had a rather difficult time actually writing this chapter, believe it or not. I've written it about a dozen times and it's gone from one direction to another, I'm not joking. This version of chapter 4 that you're reading, is version 2D. Meaning it's the second direction that I went, and the 4th and final draft. It was really frustrating having to write so many different times, and in all honesty I'm not totally happy with this chapter but I figured "well, it's done and I know I need to update…why not?" Ill eventually go through and edit it again and be sure to update it. For now, you'll just have to make do with what I have up! To clarify, I'm not happy with the mid part of the story, basically with how and why Hatsumi ends up at Shinogu's apartment for the night…but I had to run with it, and it seemed realistic compared to the other ideas I've had. And YES, you will run into A LOT of grammar and spelling errors in this chapter, I just didn't have the patience to deal with it…considering I have about a thousand didn't version of this, I just want it to be over with, haha.

With my long hiatus I've also revamped the story and future chapters, so another mess like this chapter will NOT happen again. I promise.

Anyway, I'm sure many of you are glad for an update and I give my readers my deepest thanks for sticking it out and waiting for the next installment. I can totally promise the next chapters won't take this long! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND PATIENCE! So for now, please read, review but most importantly enjoy!

_-Scarlette. _

* * *

"Hatsumi," her Father's voice was quite solemn, "this wasn't the kind of report I wanted to be getting from your teacher when you're so close to graduating."

Hatsumi couldn't look at her father in the eye; she avoided his gaze and looked out the window in shame. "I know Dad, I'm sorry." The eldest Narita daughter bit her lip, she understood why her father was upset but it wasn't as if she was being held back from graduating. Hatsumi was just having difficulty deciding-

"How is it that you don't know what you want to do for a career?" Father inquired. "You're a month away from graduating and you haven't put any thought into your future?"

"But I have put some thought into it!" Hatsumi proclaimed. "I just, I don't know exactly what it is I want to do."

"Hatsumi, you understand we can't let you go to university if you don't know what it is you want to study…"

"Now Dad," came Hatsumi's mother's voice. She was drying off her hands, done washing the dishes. "You're starting to sound like we won't support Hatsumi."

"I'm not saying we won't," Father countered. "But we can't afford to send her to school if she'd just going to dilly dally around."

"But I'm not fooling around…" Hatsumi mumbled lowly.

"When I first entered university I only had ideas of what I wanted to study," Mother said aloud. "I didn't have a plan or anything; I just took classes that were interesting."

"Yes dear, but at least you had an idea." Father replied. "According to Hatsumi's teacher our daughter doesn't even have an inkling of a plan. Her entire career worksheet was left blank."

The entrance door creaked open and closed, "Hello?" came a voice from the hallway.

Hatsumi's spirits picked up instantly, Shinogu had come to visit. "Hello!" she called out. A moment later a tall, handsome gentlemen filled the door frame of the living room. "Hi Shinogu." Hatsumi greeted him.

He smiled and crossed the room, and placed a light kiss on her cheek. "Hey," he whispered into her ear. "Mom, Dad," he said a second later, greeting his adoptive parents. "How are you?"

"We're doing well dear," mother came over to Shinogu, wrapping him in her embrace. "How is school?"

"Nearly finished for this semester," he told her. "Looks like a family meeting," Shinogu commented after he examined the family gathered in the living space. "What's going on?"

"Maybe you can talk some sense into Hatsumi," Father started. "She's having a problem deciding what to study when she studies university."

Shinogu frowned and looked over at Hatsumi, he wasn't frowning because he was upset with her, but instead frowned because he knew this was something Hatsumi had been stressing about since she entered high school. "Still having difficulty?" he asked kindly.

Hatsumi gave a small shrug, unable to find the words to reply with. The guilt she felt while her father cross examined her had seemed to multiply by the thousands when Shinogu questioned her. Partly because he was her boyfriend, but mainly because they had a similar discussion a few years back- Hatsumi didn't want Shinogu to think that she didn't take his advice to heart back then.

She had just entered high school, it was her first week, and it was tradition for the newest students to fill out a career worksheet. The sheet asked where Hatsumi would like to attend university, what her field of study would be, and why and what she would to do for a future career; Hatsumi left the entire sheet blank. Concerned, her teacher sent Hatsumi home with a note expressing that Hatsumi needed to reevaluate her academic priorities and interests.

At the time, Father was still working out of town and Mother was pilled under a mountain of over time; Hatsumi believed that she escaped from the dreaded lecture but it came in a different form instead. It was one of the rare nights that Shinogu didn't have any work from any of his part time jobs, Hatsumi came home that afternoon to find her at-the-time-brother busy in the kitchen. "Shinogu!" She asked with surprise. It was only the beginning of the many months when she would see Shinogu on the seldom occasion, and she was still adjusting to the idea of her brother always being away from home because of work. It was a pleasant surprise to see him.

Shinogu looked over his shoulder and smiled; "Hey there!" he was busy with something on the stove, and it smelt good. "I made dinner tonight, I figured you and Akane would like to an actual meal every once and while." Shinogu was aware of the fact that Mother was busy with work, so was he, and the parental care at home was lacking. "I made a stir fry," he told her.

"Smells delicious" Hatsumi replied, her tummy grumbled, seconding her opinion.

"Sit down," he motioned for her to take a seat at the table, and reached into the cabinet for plates. "How was school?" Shinogu asked.

"Ah, well." Hatsumi hesitated for a moment thinking about the note her teacher wrote. It sat in the pocket of her jacket. "You know the usual."

"Yeah?" Shinogu had plated dinner and put in on the table, sitting opposite of Hatsumi. "Sounds like something happened."

"Not really…" Hatsumi avoided eye contact with Shinogu, if he caught her gaze she knew she would crumble on the spot. She forked over a portion of the stir fry onto her plate, "Pass the rice, please?" He handed her a bowl of rice, aware of the fact that she was avoiding his worried look. "Where's Akane?" Hatsumi asked, desperate to change the topic of discussion.

"No idea," Shinogu said. "I thought you would know, I haven't seen her much lately."

"Probably out with one of her boyfriends," Hatsumi muttered between bites of her dinner.

"Boyfriends?" Shinogu questioned with some astonishment. "She has boyfriends?" he was putting emphasis on the fact that the word was plural.

"Akane is pretty," Hatsumi concluded. "She got all the looks out of the family gene pool."

"I wouldn't say that," Shinogu countered. "You're very pretty too Hatsumi."

She blushed hearing the compliment, but due to their circumstances that point in time Hatsumi didn't think much about it. "You just have to say that because you're my brother."

Shinogu didn't say anything. She'll never really understand what I mean when I say things like that, he thought to himself. It was a bitter but sweet kind of punishment, but it was the deal that he had worked out with God. He would never tell Hatsumi that he wasn't actually her brother, or that he was in love with her…in exchange God would allow Shinogu to keep Hatsumi to himself. Eventually, God did something right and made amends to the bargain that Shinogu had made.

"How's school going?" Hatsumi asked after a moment of silence. "You're a big university student now!"

"Pretty good, I enjoy the classes. But sometimes I feel like I just don't have enough time to get all the homework done. Sleep has to be sacrificed I guess," Shinogu joked.

But Hatsumi didn't find it very funny, she was concerned. "Don't push yourself too hard Shinogu," she said warningly. "Why don't you just quit all those part time jobs you have? Just keep one? That way you can focus on your studies."

Shinogu shook his head, "I can't do that."

"Why not? You're going to burn yourself out!"

"Because, there are things I need to do, things that I have to straighten out, and they all require money." Shinogu answered.

In her naivety, Hatsumi wasn't aware of Shinogu's situation at this point in their lives. She wasn't aware of the inner demons he was fighting with, the desperation he was feeling, how his happiness was slowly dying, or what he truly was planning for. She as only aware that Shinogu was hiding something from her, from his sister, and she felt betrayed. "You're hiding things from me," she retorted. "Tell me what's going on, maybe I can help!"

He only smiled wearily at her, "Don't worry about it Hatsumi."

"Obviously it is something I should be worried about!" She flung back. "You're over working yourself, and it's obvious that something is bothering you Shinogu, don't think I haven't noticed. I'm your _sister_, I'm here to help. "

The words were supposed to be comforting, Hatsumi meant them to provide support, instead they were like a poison that slowly murdered Shinogu. He knew Hatsumi loved her, cared for him, she made it evident and he appreciated her loyalty…but it was the wrong kind of love, it wasn't what he wanted. Every day he lived with his self disgust, knowing that he was harboring forbidden affections for the one girl that he wasn't allowed to love, but he would do anything, everything, to stay close to her. It didn't matter how much disgust he felt, or how sinful it may have been, he loved Hatsumi as a woman, not a sister. "I'm just trying my best to lessen the burden for Mom and Dad," Shinogu explained. "I'm going to try and pay for my school on my own so they don't have to worry about it. Raising four children isn't cheap…They still have to worry about putting you and Akane through high school, and then university, and then there's Hikaru…" Shinogu shook his head, "I'm old enough to take responsibility to pay for my own education."

At least he wasn't entirely lying to Hatsumi, even if it was just part of his reasoning.

Hatsumi sat there contemplating, pushing around her rice with her chopsticks. "You think it would easier for Mom and Dad if they didn't have to pay for my university?"

"Hatsumi," Shinogu began, "I wasn't trying to scare you about the family's financials." He felt pain staking guilty for making her worry, he only said those things to wiggle out of telling the truth. Of course he wanted to pay for his own intuition, he didn't want his adoptive parents to spend more money on him then they already have. But Hatsumi couldn't know the entire truth; she couldn't know that her brother was having near incestuous thoughts. "Mom and Dad will be able to put you through university, and if things get bad Ill help out too." It sounded like the brotherly thing to say, the brotherly thing to do. Truth be told, he wanted to provide for Hatsumi like a husband would.

"NO!" Hatsumi cried sharply. "You can't!" She looked up with guilt ridden eyes, she couldn't have Shinogu help pay for her college courses, and Hatsumi wasn't even sure what to study. She couldn't have her brother, who was working so hard to pay for his own education, pay for hers. The guild was over whelming. "I don't have to go to university after graduate high school." Hatsumi proclaimed.

"Don't be stupid Hatsumi; you know mom and dad would want you to go." Shinogu told her.

"You and I both know I'm not smart, I don't have the brains like you do Shinogu. Going to university would just be a waste of time and money."

"Then I'll just tutor you if you're so concerned about grades," insisted Shinogu.

"I can't ask you to do that Shinogu! You're already so busy, and I know you're just going to get busier the further you get into your studies." She replied

Shinogu let out a long sigh, "Alright Hatsumi, what is this all about? What's the real reason you're so worked up about college?" He looked thoughtfully at her, examining her facial expression, her body language. He knew that when she was nervous Hatsumi twiddled her thumbs. When she was hiding something or anxious, she would sigh out loud or take deep breaths- Hatsumi had taken several since she sat down for dinner. "I know you're upset about something, you came home gloomy and at the single mention of university you freak out. What happened?"

Hatsumi looked sheepishly away.

"I know you well enough to know that you're hiding something too," Shinogu teased. "So tell me what's bothering you. I may not be home all the time, but when I am let me play big brother." What Shinogu really wanted to say was: Let me be the man who supports you.

She looked at Shinogu, and hesitantly, debating, took the note out of her jacket pocket. She slid the note across the table, clearly embarrassed about what was written on it. Shinogu picked it up and read the message, "So this is what is stressing you out?"

"You make it sound like it isn't a big deal!" Hatsumi exclaimed.

Shinogu smiled and reached out to pat Hatsumi's hand, "It isn't."

"Yes it IS Shinogu! What do you think Mom is going to say when she sees that! What about DAD?" Hatsumi was clearly working herself up into a frenzy.

"They won't," he replied nonchalantly. Shinogu stood up from his seat, crumpled the paper into a tight ball and threw it into the trash in.

Hatsumi stared at him, eyes wide. "What are you doing!" It was the last thing she thought Shinogu would do.

"Taking care of your problems," he told her.

"That isn't taking care of it! That's just hiding it!" She declared.

He shrugged, "Maybe."

"Shinogu take this seriously!"

"I am," the tone in his voice was so solemn. Shinogu crossed the kitchen and squatted next to Hatsumi, the expression on his face earnest. "Listen to me Hatsumi, you just entered high school, you shouldn't be so stressed over college- it's your first week! You have three whole years to figure out what you want to study."

"But Shinogu, there's kids in my class that already know what they want to major in, what they want to do for a career! They know where they want to attend for university, where to intern…"Hatusmi's voice trailed away.

"And how many of them are going to change their minds?" Shinogu asked. Hatsumi had no answer. "A lot of them are," he told her. "Nearly everyone I graduated high school with had changed their career or schools several times in the three years we were there. Some wanted to be doctors, and then lawyers, dentist, teachers, veterinarians- some didn't know anything at all. Some people will stick with their plan, others will change their plans. My point being is that time and experience changes the future decisions you make Hatsumi. Just because you don't know what you want to do now, doesn't mean you won't by the time you graduate."

She was quiet for a moment and the asked, "What about you Shinogu? What did you know what you wanted to be?"

"Kind of," he replied with a smirk. "I changed my mind several times actually. First I wanted to be teacher, but then I found out I wasn't very good with kids…" While Shinogu attended high school, Hikaru was born. Shinogu was an excellent big brother, he was very patient and very caring for the youngest sibling, but soon found out that that patience and care was only reserved for Hikaru not other people's children. This was partly due to the housing complex the Narita's lived in; when a certain person in the complex was being scrutinized their entire family would be ostracized, something that bothered Shinogu amply. "But you see what I mean Hatsumi?" Shinogu continued on, "I changed my mind many times. Hell, I changed my mind _after_ graduating. I wanted to be doctor but now I'm studying to be lawyer."

"But being a lawyer wasn't your first choice," Hatsumi corrected him. Shinogu really did want to be a doctor; she remembered how excited he was when he read his biology book, how captivated he was learning how the body worked. But going to medical school was expensive, and Shinogu had earned scholarships and grant money to Hitsotsubashi University.

"Well, in my case you take what you can get." Shinogu laughed. "Being a lawyer isn't a bad back up plan, I was quite satisfied knowing that I was accepted to Hitsotsubashi. I still get to help people, just like I wanted, only in a different way."

"So is that what you put down on your career worksheet? That you wanted to help people? Be a doctor?" Hatsumi inquired.

"Actually, no," Shinogu replied, a small snigger escaping from his mouth. "I had to fill out the worksheet my first year too, and I still had no idea what I wanted to do. So I lied."

"You're kidding!" Hatsumi uttered, she could never imagine Shinogu lying.

He shrugged, "Yeah I did. I didn't want to teacher on my back or giving me a hard time, so I did the next best thing…I said I wanted to be a chef."

"A chef?" Hatsumi echoed in disbelief. On occasion she would see Shinogu in the kitchen tinkering around, but never particularly enjoying the fact that he was slaving over the stove.

"Told you people changed their minds!" Shinogu said with a laugh. "Just be patient Hatsumi, something will happen in your life and it will help you decide."

* * *

"Shinogu, you're almost done with your studies," Father said, "Do you have any scholarly wisdom to pass onto Hatsumi?"

"There's nothing for you to be upset about Dad," it was hard for Shinogu to call his adoptive father by any other name other then "dad." Even if the adoption was going to be annulled, Shinogu knew that his adoptive father was the only dad he ever had. It was only right to keep calling Narita Toru what he was: a dad. Shinogu looked over at Hatsumi who was plainly in anguish over what Father would say, and it was possible (at that exact same moment) that she was thinking of telling her family that she didn't need to attend an university. "Hatsumi can take little more time deciding what she wants her specific major to be," Shinogu explained, "the first two years at university they make you take general education. She won't even see a specific area of study till she's done with the generals."

Father drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. "Still," he said after a pause, "I would like for Hatsumi to know her options. Get a better idea of what's available to her."

"I can take her to see a guidance counselor," Shinogu suggested.

"You're able to have her see a Hitsotsubashi counselor?" Father asked.

"No, not a Hitsotsubashi counselor, but I have a friend that graduated not too long ago. He's a guidance counselor at a nearby cram school. I can take Hatsumi to see him, and he'll be able to help her out. Give her career books; make her take a questionnaire, figure out what kind of occupations play to her strengths."

Father hummed at the suggestion. "I like the sound of that; I'll leave it to you Shinogu. Thank you."

"It isn't a problem," Shinogu said. He stole a glance at Hatsumi; she smiled gratefully at him and let out a breath of relief. Having Shinogu there was a life line, he was able to defuse a potentially explosive situation with Father. Shinogu returned Hatsumi's grateful smile with an apologetic one, what he was about to do was going to send her heart into over drive.

Before Father could excuse himself Shinogu spoke, "But there is some complication, Dad."

"What's the matter Shinogu?" Father asked.

"You see my friend's cram school is about an hour's travel from where I live, and it takes about an hour to get from home to my apartment," Shinogu explained. "It's entrance exam season, and naturally my friend will provide his service to his cram school students before he sees any walk ins. I'm afraid his only available hour for Hatsumi is before classes start in the morning."

"Hatsumi will have to leave home early in the morning then."

"Father, classes start 7 am, much earlier than usual to compensate for the traffic and amount of students the cram school has. I don't think it's wise for Hatsumi to be up by 4 and traveling alone that early in the morning, just so she can make a 6am appointment."

"I understand," Father nodded his head. "Then you suggest what, Shinogu?"

"Hatsumi should stay the night with me." Shinogu said candidly.

Hatsumi's heart stopped, she couldn't believe what she heard. Shinogu was asking _Father_ if she could spend the night. She looked at Shinogu with astonishment; he returned her look with a cunning, confident smile. Was Shinogu relying on the fact that Father was still having issues viewing Shinogu and Hatsumi as a couple, but still as his children? And as his children they would never do something so scandalous…The look on Father's face told a much different story. The lines in his forehead creased so dramatically, his mouth in a permanent frown, there was no way he was going to let his little girl spend the night at another man's house…

Sending the deliberation Shinogu quickly added, "I can promise you Hatsumi wouldn't be sleeping with me. I can sleep on the couch in the living room, she can have my bedroom. The door has a lock on it, so if she wanted to (rather if Father wanted Hatsumi to) lock the door, she could. My roommate is in town, so there will be another person at home."

What is Shinogu thinking? The question repeated itself over and over again in Hatsumi's head, and her heart was beating so fast, so nervously. Spend the night at Shinogu's? What a crazy, irresponsible, irrational, yet thrilling and romantic idea. Say yes, say yes, and say yes! Hatsumi chanted in her head.

Dad was quiet for several moments, all eyes on him, and waiting for his decision…

"Hatsumi..." Dad began.

She snapped her neck in her father's direction, her heart beat entirely out of control. "Yes, Dad?"

"Be sure to lock the bedroom door."

* * *

"Let me use my key!" Hatsumi said excitedly.

"You know, you can use the key when you come visit by yourself." Shinogu told her.

Hatsumi bit her lip, she had Shinogu's spare key since Christmas but never really used it. She had used it for the common occasions when she would walk to Shinogu's apartment and he was with her. Hatsumi would open the door if his hands were full, or if she got there first, or if she was coming back from the corner store; but every time she had used the key she was with Shinogu or he was already home. She had never used when he was away, and Hatsumi was aware that was the point of having the spare key: to not have to wait for Shinogu and to let herself in. But she felt like she was intruding and just being a bother. "We talked about this before…" Hatsumi said with a hushed voice. She began to open the door, but felt Shinogu move behind her.

Stopping her from turning the key and opening the door, Shinogu stood behind Hatsumi, his breath caressing the back of her neck. She felt his free hand slip around her waist, his lips softly pressed against her ear, "Do you not want to visit me Hatsumi?" he whispered

Hatsumi didn't turn to look at him; she faced the door to hide the deep shade of red on her cheeks. It was an innocent question, but how he said…it sent quivers up and down her spine. "You know it isn't like that," she replied. "I'd be with you everyday if I could."

"Then why do I come home and you're not here?" He questioned. Hatsumi had to remind herself to breathe; she had to remember to think which was even harder. She had no answer to his questions; she only could manage a shrug. "Then the only reasonable thing for you to do is be her every day." Shinogu told her.

"It feels like the reasonable thing for me to is…" Hatsumi turned around and faced Shinogu, her eyes glazed with desire. What were innocent questions turned into sexual encounters; she kissed him. Hatsumi's lips locked onto Shinogu's, her passion made clear. Since their December romantic escapade, the couple had seemed to demolish the shyness factor when it came to public displays of affections, other than holding hands. Hatsumi freely kissed Shinogu, and he freely kissed her; unafraid of her pushing him away. Shinogu knew that she wouldn't.

Hatsumi pulled herself closer to Shinogu's body, gripping onto his shirt. She could feel his lips tenderly working her's open, Hatsumi followed the gentle command and parted her lips slightly. She could taste Shinogu's breath; feel his tongue sliding into her mouth.

In the mean while, Shinogu was able to multitask. Without looking he was able to turn the Hatsumi's key and open the door. She fell back and her lips pulled away from Shinogu, caught off guard that her back support and swung in the opposite direction. Shinogu grabbed Hatsumi's waist to help her regain her balance. "I figured it would be better to continue this inside the house," he told her.

"I'm not complaining."

Shinogu tossed Hatsumi's back pack, with her over night things aside. "Come here," he cooed, grabbing her hand and without any hesitation proceeded to kiss her again. Hatsumi melted against him, wrapping her arms around her neck, her fingers touching loose strands of his hair. Shinogu pressed himself against Hatsumi, he could feel her breathing become shallower, more heated- it was slowly driving him wild.

"Uh, guys? You mind moving, I need to get through the door." A voice came from behind them.

Startled, Hatsumi let go of Shinogu. Shinogu cleared his throat, a tinge of red coming across his cheeks. He wasn't embarrassed that he was doing such amorous acts with Hatsumi, but some things you just had to keep private. "Sorry Kazama." They shuffled down the entrance hall to let Kazama through.

Kazama only grinned, specifically sending Shinogu "way to go!" man signals that Hatsumi couldn't understand. "Hey, no fault man," Kazama said. "Sometimes it's hard just to get through the door," Kazama winked. Hatsumi blushed furiously.

Kazama slipped on his shoes and straightened his tie. It was clear that what Kazama witnessed wasn't that big of a deal, or was something he saw often- either way; he carried on a conversation like nothing happened. "I've got to cover Yume's shift at the club tonight," Kazama informed Shinogu. "I hate working Saturday nights though, the place gets out of control and the tips aren't worth the hassle…"

"Then why did you agree to take her shift? It's not like you needed the extra hours." Shinogu said, he was attempting to move past the awkward feeling of being caught. Bad things about roommates, Shinogu sighed to himself.

"Because, she's cute." Kazama said matter of factly.

"Trying to score a date?"

"Maaaaaybe."

More man signals were tossed between Kazama and Shinogu, they were subtle though. A lift of the eye brow, widening of the eyes on certain words, the odd hand gesture; they were having a secret conversation and Hatsumi was unaware of it.

"You plan on taking Yume out this week?" Shinogu asked. He tapped on his watch- a man signal Translation: You coming home tonight?

"Dunno, maybe tonight if things aren't busy at work. Guess I'll be out tonight." Kazama threw a thumbs up. Translation: Good luck tonight! "Alright, I'm leaving! Going to be late for work!" Kazama smiled at Hatsumi, bade her farewell, and winked at Shinogu. Translation: Go for it tiger!

* * *

"Oh my GOD, Shinogu fast forward it or something! I can't watch this!" Hatsumi squealed, she buried her face in her pillow and hid behind Shinogu.

"It isn't even that scary Hatsumi," Shinogu informed her. "I mean, there's nothing on the screen."

"How did you even con me into watching this!" Hatsumi whined.

Shinogu laughed and reached for the remote, turning the DVD player off. After Kazama left, the couple settled into the living room and decided on watching a movie. Shinogu went through the collection of movies he and Kazama had collected, many of them being Kazama's. Shinogu had heard good reviews on one of the newest movies in the collection and he had yet to see it, Hatsumi had expressed an interest in it. "A lot of my classmates were raving about it!" she said. Half way through the movie Hatsumi was regretting the idea that she ever wanted to see it.

"I'm sure there's something else on to keep us entertained." Shinogu comforted her, turning on the TV and flipping through the channels.

"Ugh, I'm never going to watch a horror movie again." Hatsumi breathed out loud. She gathered herself and sat next to Shinogu on the couch, her legs crossed.

"I was surprised that you even wanted to see it," Shinogu said, "You never did well with horror since you were a kid."

"Yeah, but everyone said it was a really good movie! It peaked my interest."

"And now you're shivering in your pants."

"Shut up," Hatsumi hit him with the pillow playfully.

"You don't want to start that Hatsumi," Shinogu warned.

"Yeah? Why not?" she teased.

Shinogu suddenly grabbed hold of her pillow, thrusting it aside- her shield now gone. He ran his finger tips up her rib cage, Hatsumi giggled and then burst into a loud fit of laughter as Shinogu proceeded to tickle her under her arms. Hatsumi squirmed frantically, trying to break free of Shinogu's hold, but he proved a worthy adversary. She fell on her back, Shinogu continuing with his attack of tickles, "O-okay! O-k-kay!" Hatsumi managed between gasps of breaths, "You win!"

"I do?" Shinogu ceased his tickle barrage, "What do I win?"

Hatsumi shrugged, "What do you want?"

Shinogu smiled, and lay on top of Hatsumi, his head resting on her chest. He listened to her heart, her breathing returning to normal, he could feel her warmth, smell her body wash lingering on her skin… "This is good; I'll take this as my prize."

Hatsumi smiled and ran her hand through Shinogu's hair, they sat there quietly for several minutes; simply enjoying each other's company, savoring the undisturbed peace, savoring one of the countless moments they should share together. How many more times would they lay on the couch together? How many more times would they go out for a walk and hold each other's hand? How many more times would they steal kisses from each other? How many times had they already said I love you? It finally had dawned on Hatsumi: How long exactly have they been together? Did they even have an anniversary date?

"Shinogu," She began.

"Hm?" he purred contently.

"When's our anniversary?" Hatsumi asked. She could Shinogu shift, his gaze locked on her; he didn't seem surprised that she had asked the question.

"I was thinking about that not too long ago myself," Shinogu confessed. "But we started off in a bit of a…" He let his sentence trail away. He wasn't sure how to say it without hurting Hatsumi, but Shinogu wasn't quite aware when they became "official." It wasn't due to common lack of boyfriend's attention span- he knew and remembered dates far better than Hatsumi did- but when he was released from the hospital he didn't want to push Hatsumi into a relationship, even if he was ready for it. As a result Shinogu was also in a fog about an anniversary date.

"It's hard to come up with a formal date," Shinogu concluded. "We've been together for such a long time, and the transition from being sibling to…well, a romantic pair, I knew would be hard for you. As much as I would like to say our anniversary date is when I gave you the ring, I think it would be inaccurate." He had to be extraordinarily cautious saying the rest, afraid that he would upset Hatsumi, but he had to be honest: "I don't think your heart was ready, or even there yet, for that to be our anniversary date."

As much as it pained Hatsumi to hear it, she knew Shinogu was right. When he gave her the ring, she was still confused on exactly where she stood relationship wise, with Shinogu. Was he still a brother? Or was he a lover? Their relationship had started long before it had become romantic one, and for the longest time Shinogu held onto an unrequited love; even after he exposed himself to be an adoptive son in love with his adoptive sister. How long did Hatsumi run away from him? How long had she pushed him away? Even after she agreed to walk down this path with Shinogu, how long did it take her to full accept him as a man? How long did it take her to finally accept that they were no longer kin, but lovers?

The guilt was eating at her alive, her eyes began to water, the tears threatening spill over.

"Hey…" Shinogu lifted himself off of Hatsumi and sat up. "Hey, there's no reason to cry Hatsumi." He pulled her body to his own, her crying face buried in his chest. He wrapped his arms around Hatsumi, trying to comfort her. "It doesn't matter now," he told her, "we're happy, we're together, and we love each other. It doesn't matter how long it took us, it just matters that we got here."

Hatsumi continued to sob, her tears soaking the front of his shirt. She thought about how long Shinogu suffered by himself, thought about all those years he lived with something so unbearable…And when he was finally freed from it, she still took her time, slowly dragging her feet. That must have hurt Shinogu even more...he was able to have everything that he wanted and he was forced to wait even longer. "I'm so sorry Shinogu," she wept.

Shinogu stroked her hair, tried to draw her closer to him. "Hatsumi, there's nothing to be sorry about." He planted several kisses on her forehead, "I have you now and that's all that matters. I don't care about anything else." He let her cry, feeling criminal for causing Hatsumi to react in such a manner. It seemed as if the tears wouldn't stop. Between the gasps for breath and wiping tears away, Hatsumi managed to compose herself, but still clung to Shinogu helplessly. "Listen," Shinogu said after a while, "Why don't you go take a shower or something? Till make you feel better, and I'll make us some tea, order pizza, forget that this all happened. Tonight is a rare occasion and I want to make sure its memorable one for us."

Hatsumi shook her head, "You go take your shower," she managed to croak. "Ill make the tea and stuff. I feel like I need to keep occupied."

"Hatsumi…" he began to argue.

"No, no!" Hatsumi cut him off before he could start, and put on a brave smile. "Seriously, I'll be fine. I don't want to ruin tonight! Go take a shower and by the time you're out I'll be just fine!"

"Why don't you-"

"Nope," Hatsumi knew what he was going to say. "Your house, you shower first. I'll take one before we go to bed tonight." Hatsumi withdrew from Shinogu's hold and stood up. "Thank you Shinogu." And she vanished into the kitchen, ready to make tea.

He sighed, there was no use arguing with her. He knew that smile and the hurried walk, she made up her mind. He went to go take his shower.

She heard the shower turn on from the other end of the apartment. Letting out a deep breath of relief Hatsumi leaned against a kitchen counter. How embarrassing, she thought to herself, I won't ruin the mood tonight! Hatsumi put the kettle on the stove, and looked at it blankly. "We do need an anniversary date…" Hatsumi mumbled to herself. But before she could decide on a date, she had to make up for what she did earlier this evening…

Shinogu turned the shower on, making sure to let it heat up before he stepped in. His clothes lay in a pile in the corner of the bathroom. He stuck his hand into the shower, testing the water and decided it was warm enough. He sighed as he felt the water hit his body, his muscles loosening up after a few seconds. "What a mess," he mumbled to himself. Even though he knew by the time he got out of the shower Hatsumi would have bounced back, trying to act as if nothing happened- but Shinogu knew her better than anyone else, even if she felt better… somewhere in the back of her mind Hatsumi would still be blaming herself. "What a stupid thing to say…" He should have kept his mouth shut and just asked Hatsumi what she thought their anniversary date should be.

He put his hand against the wall and balled it into a fist, he was frustrated with himself. Shinogu placed his head under the running water, his ears filled with the crashing sound of liquid. The water was hot enough that steam plagued the bathroom, Shinogu couldn't see out of the glass shower doors. Not that it mattered; he stood in the shower looking away from the bathroom and shower entrance. He wouldn't hear the soft clicking of the door handle, or it closing. He didn't hear the shuffle of clothes, or how they fell to the ground. He didn't hear the shower door pull open; all Shinogu heard was the pounding of water against his ears. But he did feel the draft that crept into shower stall, and he did feel the pair of trembling hand as they encircled his waist.

"Hatsumi?" he said in disbelief.

She had attached herself to Shinogu's wet body, pressed herself against him, her face buried in his broad chest. Shinogu stood there dumbstruck; he was unable to move, almost unable to think. Hatsumi is in the shower…with me? The thought ran continuously in his mind. After what seemed like hours, Shinogu came to conscience. "Hatsumi?" he asked one more time. "W-what's going on here?"

Hatsumi didn't lift her head away from his chest, "I'm taking a shower with you, isn't it obvious?" she mumbled.

"I-I don't think we can t-take a shower like this." Shinogu managed a chuckle, "I can hardly move with you glued to me."

"I g-guess that's true…" she agreed in a hushed voice. Hatsumi's grip on Shinogu began to ease away, and took a step back holding her arms to her chest; attempting to cover herself up.

Shinogu's eyes wandered for a brief moment on Hatsumi; he saw her slender legs, the curves to her hips and waist, he caught a glimpse of her soft stomach, and dare he look any further…? He stole a glance of the hidden curves of Hatsumi's bosom. Shinogu felt as if his cheeks were on fire, he looked away embarrassed, but hardly ashamed that he surveyed Hatsumi's body.

Since they had grown up together, Shinogu had witnessed Hatsumi walk around the house in a towel, watched her take a stroll from out the bathroom to her bed room after she had finished bathing. As much as he hated himself for it at the time, he took glimpses of Hatsumi in nothing but a towel- occasionally he would be minding his own business, walking down the hall to or from his room, and she would run out in front of him in just her bra and panties trying to get dressed in a hurry. Poisonous images for a poisoned kind of love.

But now- she willingly came to him, naked. Shinogu was free to look, allowed to look. He was permitted to reach out to her, feel her skin, and take in her touch. Shinogu was free from being a brother, free to be man. His instincts were blazing, his body screamed for hers, to do just more then hold her- he wanted more of her, he wanted every part of her. Hatsumi was allowing him that access, but was she ready for that? Shinogu was almost too scared to move. Would she run if he touched her? Would she be disgusted feeling the brush of his finger tips? Shinogu wasn't sure what to do.

I've lost my mind, Hatsumi chanted over and over again in her head as she entered the bathroom. I've gone totally insane, she told herself as she stripped down. I'm crazy, I'm totally crazy, she said over and over again as she opened the shower door; I must be a raging lunatic, Hatsumi concluded as she stepped into the shower and clamped onto Shinogu's wet and naked body. But I'm totally in love, she concluded as she held onto Shinogu. She felt his drenched skin, could feel the heat from the shower glue them together, but the heat from Shinogu's body was unbearable- was he burning up from embarrassment? She had rarely seen Shinogu in a towel, sitting around the house in his boxers, every time she had seen Shinogu growing up he had been nearly or fully clothed, he had taken extra precaution to never show skin around Hatsumi. When they had gone to the beach on a family vacation Shinogu had a shirt on most of the time- but she did recall the one moment where he did take it off for a swim. Hatsumi didn't think about it then, but as she recalled Shinogu had an excellent body. She clearly remembered girls flocking over to him.

But now, they stood so close together naked. Hatsumi's shyness was transparent on her face, it may have been her plan to take a shower with Shinogu but her actions weren't on the same page. What was Shinogu thinking? He had never seen her naked, what was running through his mind? Was he pleased? Was he surprised? Was he just as embarrassed as she was? Was he feeling the same kind of undeniable emotions?

She stood there, exposed, the water dampening her body. "Um…" She said.

"I'm…not sure if I should restrain myself or…" Shinogu's sentence died away. What was he suppose to say? Should I contain myself or ravage you like a beast dying from hunger? How the hell are you even suppose to say something like that, Shinogu argued with himself, I would definitely scare her away if I said something like that…But his desires were so over powering, all he could see was the love of his life perfectly, and beautifully, bare. He reached out for her…

Opposed to Shinogu's wild imagination, Hatsumi didn't convulse at his touch, in fact she leaned into it. Shingo stroked her cheek and softly smile, "Have I told you how beautiful you are?" Hatsumi's face tinted to a shade of pink. She still held her arms against her chest, attempting to cover herself, but with Shinogu's words she let her arms fall to the side- she exposed herself. He reached out for her again, his arms encircling around her small frame, pulling her close, the softness of her breasts brushing against his own skin. They stood holding each other, the water spilling over them.

"You're beautiful Hatsumi," Shinogu whispered over and over again. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, the tip of her nose, the bottom of her chin, and then he placed his own lips on hers. Gently Shinogu pressed his lips against hers, Hatsumi's responding with a light pressure. She felt his hand journey up her neck and place itself on the back of her head, Shinogu pushing them closer together, kissing her harder. He playfully bit on her lower lip, she moaned into their kiss. Shinogu's other hand travelled up her leg and grasped her hips, his palms pressing against her skin.

Hatsumi felt electricity at the places Shinogu touched, a painless exciting pulse throbbing at her pores. Her heart skipped a beat kissing Shinogu, her blood racing to her head making her feel light headed. She clung to Shinogu for support, what he did to her; how he did it to her, it made her knees buckle- she couldn't think straight, only react.

But Shinogu's mind was racing. How far should he go, how far should he take this? This couldn't act according to instinct, to his desires. If he were to act on his lust he would have taken Hatsumi ages ago, but his chivalrous demeanor had kept his lustful beast on a tight leash. But now that the time, the place, and his lover presented themselves- was it okay to take it a step further? Was it alright to go beyond kissing and light groping? He weighed the consequences. If he advanced his sexual actions and Hatsumi didn't wish for it, she could easily turn him away and in the worst possible case…he could lose her. But if he didn't advance, and that was what she was looking for, he knew Hatsumi would think that she had done something wrong. It was a double edged sword.

He had to take a chance.

Shinogu preceded his bombardment of kisses on Hatsumi and suddenly the hand resting on her hips, became an arm entrapping her. Shinogu gently, but command fully, pushed Hatsumi against the shower wall.

She let out a small gasp, the cold of the wall didn't surprise her nearly as much Shinogu's action- it was a delightfully unexpected event. It was Shinogu's primary nature to be kind and passive aggressive- but when an event occurred and it required Shinogu to lead, to take command, to be aggressive…Hatsumi could feel her attraction escalate to new heights. She liked Shinogu being in charge, _it aroused her_.

That didn't mean Hatsumi was entirely attracted to the alpha male, dominant, type of man. She had made that mistake with Ryoki- over bearing, overly jealous; she was so sick and tired of the alpha dog syndrome, which just wasn't her type of man. Shinogu's gentle nature was clearly the best fit for her Hatsumi thought; but she loved it when he was dominant, that was because Shinogu didn't have the dying need to constantly puff out his chest. The fact that he knew _when_ to be aggressive was the key factor for Hatsumi.

When Shinogu was protective, it was comforting for Hatsumi, but before they were dating she would feel a strange swelling in her heart and a flush of her cheeks whenever she witnessed such an authoritive action come from him. Thinking back on it, Hatsumi realized that her feminine instincts were screaming about how attractive Shinogu was when he did something so masculine, she was just denying how appealing it was.

Shinogu was the perfect balance of a man, every feature – physical, mental, and emotional- a girl could dream of was somehow given to him. He knew how to listen, to speak, how to dominate, when to dominate, when to be gentle, he was protective and yet showed jealousy, patient and supportive… "How did I get so lucky?" Hatsumi whispered between their shared kisses. How was it that such a fine man had only eyes for her?

"I'm sure I can say the same thing," Shinogu replied as he returned her kisses. What Hatsumi felt and thought about Shinogu, he felt and thought the same for her. A perfectly synced couple.

He pressed himself against her, forcing Hatsumi's back against the wall entirely, his arms releasing her hips. Taking both her wrist into one of his hand Shinogu carefully slid Hatsumi's arms above her head, pinning her down easily. He nipped at her ear and trailed down her neck, "We can stop if you're uncomfortable Hatsumi," He breathed against her skin.

Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, Hatsumi managed to shake her head. "Its okay," she reassured him. He kissed her neck again. His free hand ran through her wet hair, down the back of her neck and over her shoulder, he trailed his fingers over the top of her chest and Hatsumi shuddered with delight at his touch. She wanted to hold onto him, to clutch at his back, but Shinogu's grip kept her hands pinned over her head, she let out a breath of yearning frustration. His finger tips traced the base of Hatsumi's neck and started to move farther down, lightly touching the top of her breast. She let out another breath of excitement, Shinogu was barely touching her and he was able to get such a reaction out of her.

He allowed himself a small smile and traced over the nipple of Hatsumi's breath, he could feel her body stiffen as he did so. Shinogu carefully traced her nipple several more times and the lovingly squeezed it in between two of his fingers, he could feel the inhale and exhale of her breath against his cheek. He cupped a single breast with his hand, she took a sharp intake of air, he took it as a sign that what he was doing was okay. Shinogu planted another kiss on her lips and moved downwards, kissing her collarbone, her chest, and placed his lips on the captive breast. He kissed her tenderly, his lips touching the skin of the breast, the water from the shower hitting the back of his head.

Hatsumi felt a jolt of excitement pass through her body as she felt Shinogu's lips touch her breast, she arched her back in response. His lips spared no part of her breast, kissing the skin above and below, lightly nipping at her nipple. She let out a low moan, "Shinogu," she breathed. He looked up with a mischievous grin; she returned it with a nervous but electrified gaze- Shinogu slipped his tongue over her flesh, playing with her nipple with his teeth and tongue. He lightly rolled his tongue around her, grazing his teeth against his nipple in a teasing manner, the shallow draws of breaths giving him signals of what to do next. Hatsumi let out a small whimper each time Shinogu passed his teeth over her bosom, she wanted to break free of his grip and to grab onto his nearest body part- she felt so exposed being unable to hold onto Shinogu as he sent her body into a tizzy…she tried to move her wrist forcefully, but his hold on her only tightened; he kept her hands and arms above her head, telling her that he was only starting.

* * *

YES, I DID END IT THERE. I figured that the chapter was long enough and I seriously could have written another 20 pages of Shinogu and Hatsumi's first time…but I thought that really would have been a total over kill, and it really would have ruin the mood of the chapter and the mood of the couple. So in the next chapter Ill continue on with this wonderful scene and set the correct pace and correct mood for the "loooove scene." Don't worry; I won't leave you hanging for 8 months before my next update…I really want to knock this next chapter out of the ballpark!

_-Scarlette. _

_**"I ain't tryin' to hide my flaws, I'd rather keep them in the light" - Cage the Elephant, In One Ear. **_


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